CALIFORNIA  COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
CALIFORNIA  COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE 

BH 

SEP  1  8  1972 
IRVINE,  CALIFORNIA  92664 


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THE  FOREIGN  DOCTOR 


By  Robert  E.  Speer 

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'The  Hakim  Sahib." 

THE  FOREIGN  DOCTOR; 


A  BIOGRAPHY  OF 
JOSEPH   PLUMB   COCHRAN,  M.D. 

OF    PERSIA 

By 

ROBERT  E.  SPEER 

ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK  CHICAGO  TORONTO 

Fleming   H.  Revell   Company 

LONDON  AND  EDINBURGH 


Copyright,  1911,  by 
FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


WE 


(I 


New  York:  158  Fifth  Avenue 
Chicago:  123  N.  Wabash  Ave. 
Toronto:  25  Richmond  St.,  W. 
London :  21  Paternoster  Square 
Edinburgh:  100  Princes  Street 


PREFACE 

THE  extensive  use  of  medical  missions  in  the  foreign 
missionary  enterprise  is  so  familiar  to  us  that  we  are 
apt  to  forget  that  it  is  a  modern  development.  There 
were,  of  course,  many  physicians  among  the  pioneers, — 
Parker,  Livingstone,  Hepburn,  McCartee,  Chamber- 
lain, and  many  others, — but  mutitudinous  responsibili- 
ties fell  upon  these  men.  They  had  to  do  sometimes 
the  work  of  exploration,  translation,  education,  as 
well  as  evangelization,  and  with  many  of  them  the 
medical  work  became  subordinate,  and  by  some  of 
them  was  given  up  altogether.  In  the  biographies  of 
these  pioneers,  accordingly,  medical  missionary  work 
occupied  a  secondary  place.  And  of  the  modern  school 
of  medical  missionaries  who,  in  the  broader  develop- 
ment and  the  more  definite  specialization  of  the  work, 
have  been  able  to  devote  themselves  primarily,  if  not 
entirely,  to  the  maintenance  and  extension  of  medical 
missions,  there  are  few  whose  lives  have  been  recorded 
in  any  biographical  story.  There  are  such  biographies, 
but  all  who  are  interested  in  medical  missions  have 
felt  the  need  of  more,  especially  of  such  as  can  show 
the  medical  missionary  at  his  work,  with  the  prob- 
lems he  meets,  the  policies  he  adopts,  and  the  influence 
he  exerts.  Dr.  Cochran's  life  furnished  rare  material 
for  just  such  a  biography. 

But  he  was  far  more  than  a  doctor.  He  was  a  man 
of  the  broadest  interests,  a  rare  and  delightful  per- 
sonality, with  a  flavour  of  distinction  which  added 

7 


6  PREFACE 

charm  to  all  that  he  said  and  did.  He  was  not  only 
a  physician,  but  also  a  diplomatist,  a  counseller,  a 
great  public  character,  a  missionary  leader,  and  with 
it  all  a  man  so  modest,  so  reserved,  so  incapable  of 
self-advertisement,  so  unwilling  to  exploit  himself  even 
for  the  good  of  his  work,  that  only  a  small  circle  knew 
what  a  unique  character  there  was  in  Urumia,  doing 
quietly  in  a  far-off  corner  of  the  world  a  piece  of  work 
as  true,  as  difficult,  as  representative  of  the  central 
problems  of  modern  life,  and  especially  of  the  contact 
of  Christian  civilization  with  Asia,  as  any  work  that 
was  doing  anywhere  on  the  earth. 

I  desire  to  thank  the  friends  who  have  spared  no 
pains  to  supply  information  for  this  biography.  The 
love  and  regard  which  all  of  us  who  knew  Dr.  Cochran 
felt  for  him  make  us  eager  to  do  everything  we  can 
to  honour  his  memory,  and  to  perpetuate  the  influence 
of  his  character  and  career.  And  to  this  end  I  have 
sought  in  this  sketch  to  preserve,  as  much  as  possible, 
the  spirit  of  the  man  and  the  contemporary  and  local 
colouring  as  these  are  embodied  in  his  reports  and  in 
his  own  and  his  wife's  correspondence. 

"  Hakim  Sahib  "  was  the  title  by  which  Dr.  Cochran 
was  known  in  Persia.  Hakim  is  the  Persian  word  for 
doctor,  and  Sahib,  meaning  master  or  sir,  is  the 
respectful  term  of  address  applied  to  foreigners  in 
Persia  and  India. 

I  hope  that  those  who  read  this  sketch  may  feel 
something  of  the  simplicity  and  strength,  the  honour 
and  truth  of  a  life  which  coupled  simple  faith  and 
ceaseless  toil. 

B.  E.  S. 
NEW  YORK  CITY. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    ANCESTEY 11 

II.     THE  MISSION  TO  THE  NESTOEIANS        .       .  16 

III.  His  MISSIONARY  PAEENTAGE    ....  25 

IV.  BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION         ....  39 
V.     BEGINNING  WOEK  IN  PEBSIA   .       .       .       .  51 

VI.     FAMINE  AND  RELIEF 67 

VII.     THE  KUEDISH  INVASION 74 

VIII.     OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FEIENDS         .       .       .  102 

IX.     THE   REMAINDEE   OF  His   FIBST  TEEM  OF 

SEEVICE  AND  His  FIEST  FUELOUGH        .  121 

X.       "IN   JOUENEYINGS   OFTEN"          ....  149 

XI.     "!N  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS"     ....  180 

XII.     His  LAST  VISIT  TO  AMEEICA  AND  RETUEN 

TO  PEBSIA .  221 

XIII.  THE  CLOSING  YEABS  OF  WOEK     .       .       .  229 

XIV.  "  To     FAITHFUL     WAEEIOBS    COMES    THE 

REST" 259 

XV.     As  A  PEACE-MAKEE  AND  DIPLOMATIST       .  295 

XVI.     As  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONAEY      .       .       .       .318 

XVII.     As  A  CHEISTIAN  MAN  365 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

DB.  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN         .         .         Frontispiece 

FACING  PAGE 

DR.  COCHRAN  AND  A  KURDISH  SHEIKH  ...  76 
DR.  COCHRAN  AND  KURDISH  PATIENTS  .  .  .150 

DB.  COCHRAN,  MR.  WRATISLAW,  THE  BRITISH 
CONSUL,  AND  MR.  WRATISLAW'S  INDIAN 
SOWARS 260 

DR.  COCHRAN,  DR.  NORTON,  THE  AMERICAN  CON- 
SUL, AND  PERSIAN  GUARDS  ....  290 

DISPENSARY  DAY  (OUTDOORS)  ....  322 
DR.  COCHRAN  IN  THE  WARDS  ....  340 
DISPENSARY  DAY  (INDOORS) 360 


I 

ANCESTRY 

JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN  was  born  in  the  little 
village  of  Seir  in  Persia,  overlooking  the  plain  of 
Urumia,  on  January  14th,  1855.  His  parents, 
Joseph  Gallup  Cochran  and  Deborah  Plumb  Cochran, 
were  missionaries  to  the  Nestorians.  By  natural  in- 
heritance he  entered  into  the  missionary  character  and 
the  missionary  service.  And  this  inheritance,  which 
came  to  him  pure  and  re-enforced  through  his  parents, 
ran  far  back  of  them.  Joseph  Gallup  Cochran  was  the 
fourth  of  the  ten  children  of  Samuel  Cochran  and 
Catherine  Gallup,  and  a  descendant  of  a  Scotch  refu- 
gee to  Londonderry,  who  fled  thither  from  the  persecu- 
tion in  Scotland  under  James.  Samuel  came  to  Amer- 
ica early  in  the  nineteenth  century,  meeting  his  wife, 
a  descendant  of  a  Frenchman  named  Ammon  who 
escaped  from  the  Massacre  of  St.  Bartholomew,  on 
shipboard.  Her  aunt,  Mercy  Franklin,  was  first  cousin 
of  Benjamin  Franklin.  Samuel  and  his  wife  settled 
first  in  Vermont  and  later  removed  to  Springville, 
Erie  County,  New  York,  then  known  as  the  Holland 
Purchase,  where  Mr.  Cochran  took  up  a  tract  of  land, 
now  enclosed  in  the  corporate  bounds  of  Springville, 
becoming  one  of  its  first  inhabitants  and  in  after  time 
one  of  its  foremost  citizens.  He  died  October  19th, 
1845,  five  years  after  a  visit  with  his  wife  to  his  old 
home  in  Colrain,  County  Derry,  Ireland. 

11 


12  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Joseph  Gallup  Cochran,  the  second  son  of  Samuel, 
early  decided  to  enter  upon  commercial  life,  and  leav- 
ing school  took  a  clerkship  in  a  store  in  the  village 
of  Lodi,  now  Gowanda.  Here  his  views  of  life  and  its 
obligations  changed.  He  resolved  to  devote  himself 
to  the  ministry  and  went  to  Amherst  College.  After 
graduation  he  taught  three  years  in  the  Nunda  Acad- 
emy, where  his  work  is  well  remembered,  and  he  con- 
tinued to  teach  as  a  tutor  in  a  private  family  in  New 
York  while  he  pursued  his  studies  in  Union  Theologi- 
cal Seminary.  "  My  parents  always  considered  his 
presence  in  the  house  a  benediction  to  the  household," 
says  one  of  those  whom  he  taught,  Mrs.  Martha  H. 
Beers,  "  and  he  was  a  power  for  good  among  the  young 
people  of  the  church  with  which  we  were  connected." 

Joseph  G.  Cochran's  bride  was  Deborah  Plumb, 
daughter  of  Joseph  Plumb  of  Gowanda.  This  Joseph 
Plumb  was  one  of  the  strong  and  outstanding  charac- 
ters of  western  New  York.  He  was  born  in  Paris, 
Oneida  County,  in  1792,  and  coming  to  western  New 
York  in  1816,  settled  in  Fredonia.  He  was  an  active 
and  energetic  business  man  who  neither  in  business 
nor  in  any  other  sphere  of  life  floated  with  the  tide. 
He  moved  to  Gowanda  in  1827,  and  finding  no  religious 
life  or  observances  whatever,  organized  at  once  the 
first  Sunday  school,  and  was  its  superintendent  as 
long  as  he  lived  in  the  village.  Through  his  influence 
the  same  year  the  Presbyterian  Church  was  organized 
and  he  was  its  first  ruling  elder.  "  He  had  a  natural 
cheerfulness  and  pleasantness  of  disposition  which 
made  his  presence  agreeable,"  said  his  pastor,  Mr. 
Cowles,  in  his  funeral  sermon  in  1870.  "  This  cheerful, 
natural  amiability  greatly  augmented  his  usefulness. 
...  In  family  worship,  each  of  his  children  and 


ANCESTRY  13 

domestics  and  guests  must  have  a  Bible,  and  read  in 
their  turn,  at  devotion,  thus  teaching  his  whole  house- 
hold to  reverence  the  Scriptures,  consult  them  daily, 
and  serve  the  God  who  gave  them."  Joseph  Plumb's 
grandson  was  to  be  as  careful  and  conscientious  in 
these  things  as  his  grandfather. 

Mr.  Plumb  was  also  and  naturally  an  ardent  tem- 
perance advocate  and  an  earnest  abolitionist.  He  was 
previously  a  Whig  and  had  received  from  Governor 
Seward  a  nomination  as  judge  of  Erie  County  which 
he  declined.  He  became  one  of  the  founders  of 
the  Liberty  Party,  and  was  ever  ready  to  facilitate 
the  escape  of  slaves  to  Canada  and  to  advance  the  abo- 
lition cause.  "  His  house  was  a  station  on  the  under- 
ground railway.  Anti-slavery  meetings  which  he  con- 
ducted in  the  Presbyterian  church  again  and  again 
were  broken  up  by  turbulent  mobs.  A  candidate  for 
State  Senator  in  the  Liberty  Party's  first  appeal,  he 
received,"  says  his  son,  the  Rev.  Albert  H.  Plumb,  D.D., 
"  in  his  own  town,  eleven  votes,  and  it  was  remarked 
at  his  supper  table  that  evening  that  the  little  eleven 
would  leaven  the  whole  lump,  a  prophecy  that  he  said 
was  fulfilled  when  Lincoln's  proclamation  answered  his 
daily  prayer  at  the  family  altar  that  God  would  break 
every  yoke." 

Deborah  Plumb  was  Joseph's  third  child,  and  was 
born  at  Fredonia  in  1820.  She  was  educated  in  the 
village  of  Lodi  and  in  the  Utica  Female  Seminary. 
She  was  of  a  timid  nature  as  a  girl,  "  prone  to  hear 
strange  noises  in  the  night  when  her  father  was  from 
home,"  says  her  brother,  Dr.  Plumb,  "  and  to  steal  into 
her  brothers'  room  and  waken  them  with  the  whispered 
words,  '  There  is  somebody  in  the  house,  what  shall 
we  do  ? '  Who  could  imagine  her  coolly  directing  the 


14  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

repulse  of  a  midnight  attack  of  the  Kurds  on  the 
Mission  premises  at  Mt.  Seir,  stationing  the  native 
men  of  the  household  on  the  walls,  and  keeping  them 
supplied  with  powder  and  ball?  Or  who  could  have 
thought  her  capable  of  arousing  her  camp  one  night 
when  on  a  missionary  tour,  and  driving  off  the  mur- 
derous marauders,  who  had  awakened  her  by  their 
stealthy  attempt  to  draw  out  from  under  the  tent  her 
little  daughter  sleeping  on  the  ground  at  her  side?  " 
She  never  needed  to  acquire  the  missionary  spirit. 
That  was  born  in  her.  And  as  a  girl  she  was  actively 
interested  in  the  work  on  the  Cataraugus  Reservation, 
two  or  three  miles  away,  where  she  taught  the  Indian 
children,  walking  to  and  fro  except  when  the  snow 
was  deep  and  her  brothers  took  her  with  horse  and 
sleigh.  For  several  seasons  she  stayed  at  the  Mission 
station  eight  miles  distant,  living  in  the  families  of 
the  Eev.  Asher  Bliss  and  the  Rev.  Asher  Wright  and 
their  saintly  wives,  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board. 

Such  love  of  the  needy  made  her  ready  to  respond 
to  any  appeal,  and  it  was  no  unnatural  thing  for  her 
to  answer  the  call  from  the  far-off  Mission  to  the 
Nestorians.  On  June  9th,  1847,  she  and  Mr.  Cochran 
were  married  and  left  the  same  month  for  Boston  to 
sail  for  Persia.  Twenty-six  years  later  she  recalled 
her  wedding  day  in  a  letter  to  a  daughter,  written  as 
she  sat  alone  in  her  home  at  Mt.  Seir  two  years  after 
her  husband's  death: — 

This  month  is  always  a  hard  one  to  me.  Twenty-six 
years  ago  now  I  was  making  the  last  preparations  for  my 
marriage,  and  to  leave  my  native  land.  It  seems  as  yes- 
terday. Dear  father  was  so  tenderly  attentive  to  me.  Albert 
was  my  right  hand  man,  packing,  and  oh,  few  brothers  know 


ANCESTRY  15 

how  to  do  and  to  say  all  the  kind  things  he  did !  Then  there 
were  dear  brothers  Charlie  and  Carlie,  all  alive  to  do 
everything  to  make  the  last  days  we  were  ever  to  spend 
together  in  the  dear  old  home  as  pleasant  as  possible.  There 
was  brother  Edward,  who  came  home  from  Buffalo  in  the 
village  stage  the  night  before  the  wedding.  He  wanted  me 
to  dress  sweetly  and  simply,  but  daintily,  and  with  his  own 
hands  he  arranged  the  scarf  on  my  head  as  we  seated  our- 
selves in  the  carriage  to  go  to  the  church  that  Wednesday, 
June  9th.  On  my  white  dress  I  wore  a  white  rose  from  our 
yard.  I  looked  up  just  now,  and  there  was  the  face  which 
was  most  of  all  to  me  on  that  day,  looking  down  from  the 
frame  on  the  wall.  I'll  have  a  cry  and  feel  better  before 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Whipple  arrive,  as  I  am  expecting  them. 

Her  son,  who  was  to  take  her  husband's  place,  was 
to  be  a  reserved  and  even  reticent  man,  but  he  was 
to  have  his  mother's  tender  and  poetical  sensitiveness. 
Out  of  such  an  ancestry  of  high-minded  and  fearless 
devotion  to  principle,  of  simplest  and  truest  refinement, 
of  energy  and  unselfishness,  of  geniality  and  good  feel- 
ing, of  self-respect  and  the  respect  of  men,  of  modesty 
and  purity,  came  the  future  medical  missionary  who 
was  to  be  the  friend  of  princes,  the  defender  of  the 
poor,  the  counsellor  of  Moslem  governors  and  of  an 
ancient  Christian  Church,  the  deliverer  of  a  city,  and 
the  father  of  a  people. 


II 

THE  MISSION  TO  THE  NESTORIANS 

SAVE  in  the  spring,  when  the  snows  and  rains  of 
winter  have  watered  the  ground  and  carpeted  it 
with  green,  Persia  is  a  brown  and  dreary  land. 
Along  the  water  courses,  however,  and  where  here  and 
there  the  few  rivers  provide  constant  irrigation,  ver- 
dant oases  will  stand  out  from  the  barrenness  of  the 
treeless  hills  and  the  grassless  plains.    Of  all  these 
Persian  oases  none  is  more  beautiful  than  Urumia,  the 
home  of  Zoroaster.    In  the  centre  is  the  city  of  Urumia, 
and  round  about,  the  country  is  green  and  fruitful.1 

1  An  account  of  the  border  country  between  Urumia  and  the  Tur- 
kish frontier  will  enable  the  reader  to  understand  many  later  allusions: 

"  West  of  the  foothills  lie  the  uplands.  They  too  are  watered  as  the 
plain  and  support  such  flocks  on  their  rich  pastures  and  supply 
such  wheat  as  the  marauding  Kurds  allow.  Opposite  the  lake  are 
three  such  upland  plains  :  Mergawar,  Tergawar,  and  Baradost,  each 
with  easy  descents  to  Urumia  plain,  and  each  shut  in  from  the  west 
by  the  great  range  of  mountains  that  runs  from  Karabagh  to  Ushnuk. 

"Three  Kurdish  tribes  occupy  these  plains.  The  Begzade,  a 
family  which  emigrated  from  Mesopotamia  80  years  ago,  now  num- 
bering with  servants  about  3000,  of  whom  some  500  are  armed,  occupy 
the  small  district  called  Dasht  plain  in  Mergawar  and  Tergawar. 

"  In  all  the  villages  there  are  Nestorian  Christians  who  are  '  hewers 
of  wood  and  drawers  of  water'  to  the  hated  Kurds,  for  the  Kurds  are 
innocent  of  any  tendency  to  manual  labour,  living  both  by  the  labour 
of  the  Christians  and  by  the  pillage  they  carry  off  from  the  great 
plain  of  Urumia,  which  the  Persian  government  has  little  will  and 
less  power  to  protect.  The  Christians  of  Tergawar  are  a  brave,  war- 
like race,  not  improbably  of  Kurdish  origin  to  a  large  extent,  just 
ns  the  Shekoiks  are  said  to  have  been  Christians  a  century  ago. 
Three  villages  in  Tergawar  are  exclusively  Christian,  employing  in 

16 


THE  MISSION  TO  THE  NESTORIANS       17 

The  description  written  by  Dr.  Grant,  the  first  medical 
missionary  to  the  Nestorians  sixty  years  ago,  is  true 
to-day : 

A  plain  of  exuberant  fertility  is  enclosed  between  the 
mountains  and  the  lake,  comprising  an  area  of  about  five 
hundred  square  miles,  and  bearing  upon  its  bosom  no  less 
than  three  hundred  hamlets  and  villages.  The  landscape  is 
one  of  the  most  lovely  in  the  East,  and  the  effect  is  not  a 
little  heightened  by  the  contrast  of  such  surprising  fertility 
with  the  stern  aspect  of  the  surrounding  heights,  on  which  not 
a  solitary  tree  is  to  be  seen;  while  in  the  plain,  the  willows, 
poplars,  and  sycamores  by  the  water-courses,  the  peach,  apri- 
cot, pear,  plum,  cherry,  quince,  apple,  and  vine,  impart  to 
large  sections  the  appearance  of  a  rich,  variegated  forest. 
(The  Nestorians,  p.  19.) 

This  is  the  centre  of  the  work  of  the  Mission  to  the 
Nestorians.  The  Nestorians  claim  a  traditional  lineage 
running  back  to  St.  Thomas.  After  the  death  of 
Christ,  it  is  said,  Thomas  went  east  to  India.  He 
stopped  by  the  lake  of  Urumia  and  converted  the 
people  there,  and  then  stepped  across  the  lake,  using 
certain  islands,  still  pointed  out,  as  his  stepping-stones. 
The  way  was  prepared  for  him  by  the  Three  Wise  Men, 
who  after  their  return  to  their  own  land  of  Persia, 
had  of  course  spoken  of  Christ.  Other  traditions  credit 
the  introduction  of  Christianity  to  Thaddeus,  one  of 
the  seventy,  and  St.  Mari,  his  disciple.  As  Christian- 
ity gradually  spread  eastward  from  Antioch,  the  Chris- 
tians on  the  borders  of  Persia  began  to  be  known 
as  the  "  Church  of  the  East."  Their  national  name  is 
"  Syrians."  After  the  Council  of  Ephesus  in  431,  when 

a  few  cases  Kurdish  servants,  and  some  200  of  them  carry  arms, 
which  they  are  made  to  employ  as  an  advance  guard  for  the  timid 
Persian  troops  which  occasionally  visit  the  district.  Mergawar  and 
Baradost  are  far  less  cultivated  and  inhabited,  and  the  Christians 
there  are  the  abject  subjects  of  the  Kurds." 


18  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Nestorius,  the  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  was  de- 
posed and  excommunicated  for  his  heretical  opinion 
regarding  the  nature  of  Christ,  namely,  that  He  had 
two  distinct  personalities,  the  Church  of  the  East  held 
another  meeting  where  Nestorius  was  pronounced  or- 
thodox. Since  then,  these  Christians  have  been  cut  off 
from  western  Christianity.  They  still  flourished,  how- 
ever, sending  missionaries  far  into  China.  The  Church 
reached  the  height  of  its  vigour  in  the  seventh  to  thir- 
teenth centuries.  It  prospered  externally  under  the 
great  Caliphs  of  Bagdad,  and  during  the  decadence 
of  the  Caliphate,  continued  to  count  great  numbers 
in  its  communion,  some  of  them  Persian  Tartars  and 
Mongols,  but  gradually  lost  its  vigour.  Under  the 
careless  toleration  given  by  Genghis  Khan  and  his 
successors  it  came  for  a  time  to  greater  prominence, 
but  finally  was  decimated  by  the  massacres  of  Tamer- 
lane which  left  of  it  only  shattered  fragments.  In 
the  sixteenth  century,  these  eastern  Christians  were 
divided  by  a  controversy  over  the  Patriarchate.  The 
section  in  the  plain  of  Mosul  in  Turkey  went  over  to 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  The  rest,  about  two- 
thirds  of  the  whole  body,  in  Turkish  Kurdistan  and 
the  Persian  province  of  Azerbaijan,  remained  inde- 
pendent, subject  to  the  Patriarch,  who  resided  at 
Kochanis,  in  the  mountains  of  Turkish  Kurdistan. 
The  character  of  this  venerable  Church  is  well  described 
by  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Shedd  of  Urumia: 

The  theology  of  the  ancient  Church  of  the  East  is,  of 
course,  Nicene,  with  the  addition  of  the  Nestorian  definition 
of  the  relation  between  the  human  and  Divine  natures  in 
the  incarnate  Son  of  God.  Definite  and  logical  develop- 
ment has  not  gone  much  farther,  due  partly  to  the  character 
of  the  Syriac  mind,  impulsive  in  initiative,  and  often 
vigorous  in  execution,  but  not  constructive  of  either  theo- 


THE  MISSION  TO  THE  NESTORIANS       19 

logical  or  ecclesiastical  system.  Another  reason,  perhaps 
the  principal  one,  is  that  the  vital  conflict  of  this  Church  has 
not  been  with  heresy  or  variations  of  Christian  doctrine, 
but  with  heathenism  and  Islam.  On  most  theological  ques- 
tions, except  the  person  of  Christ,  the  Trinity,  and  the 
authority  of  apostolic  and  Old  Testament  Scriptures,  a 
diversity  of  opinion  is  found  in  their  literature.  For  ex- 
ample, transubstantiation  is  both  affirmed  and  denied.  There 
is,  however,  a  practical  tendency  to  replace  simple  faith  in 
the  crucified  and  risen  Saviour  with  some  sort  of  sacerdotal 
mediatorship.  Still  stronger  is  the  tendency  to  trust  to 
legal  works  instead  of  living  faith.  The  fast  is  the  greatest 
Christian  institution;  votal  offerings,  and  pilgrimages  to 
shrines  are  most  important  auxiliaries.  The  priesthood  of 
the  clergy  in  succession  to  the  Levitical  priesthood  is  recog- 
nized, but  the  name  commonly  used  to  designate  the  clergy 
is  not  priest,  but  elder  (kasha  or  kashisha),  the  New  Testa- 
ment presbyter.  The  sacrament  holds  a  high  place  in  pop- 
ular regard,  and  yet  the  fact  that  there  is  no  confessional 
deprives  the  priest  of  inquisitorial  power.  Vows  to  famous 
saints  are  trusted  means  of  curing  disease  and  procuring 
blessings.  Religion  is  largely  divorced  from  morals,  and 
has  little  power  of  moral  restraint.  The  clergy  are  no 
better  than  the  common  people  in  general  morality,  are  more 
given  to  idleness,  and  possibly  more  generally  demoralized 
by  begging  in  Eussia.  The  higher  clergy  (there  being  at 
present,  i.e.,  1895,  the  patriarch,  one  metropolitan,  and  eight 
diocesan  bishops)  are,  with  a  few  exceptions,  shamelessly 
venal,  and  in  some  instances  of  notoriously  evil  life.  Two 
favourable  points  may  be  emphasized. 

The  authority  of  the  Scriptures  has  never  been  impugned, 
and  is  a  holy  tradition  of  universal  acceptance;  nor  is  there 
any  objection  raised  to  the  Scriptures  in  the  vernacular. 

The  true  catholicity  of  the  Nestorians  is  the  second  point. 
Protestant  missionaries  have  been  recognized  as  true  minis- 
ters administering  valid  ordinances.  (Missionary  Review  of 
the  World,  October,  1895,  Article:  "Relation  of  the  Protes- 
tant Missionary  Effort  to  the  Nestorian  Church,"  p.  741  f.) 

Dr.  Grant  maintained  that  the  Nestorians  were  the 
descendants  of  the  "  lost  Ten  Tribes,"  basing  his  argu- 


20  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

ment  on  traditions,  physiological  affinities,  customs, 
and  institutions.  His  argument  was  not  conclusive, 
but  probably  nowhere  else  in  the  world  is  there  such 
a  preservation  of  the  atmosphere  of  the  Old  Testament 
and  the  institutions  and  customs  of  Bible  life  as  among 
this  small  people  whose  Christianity  runs  back  to  the 
dawn  of  the  Christian  era,  and  who,  with  the  Arme- 
nians, for  twelve  centuries  have  held  their  faith  against 
Moslem  tyranny  and  persecution. 

The  Nestorians  are  a  warm-hearted,  childlike  people, 
patient,  dignified,  too  disposed  to  dependence,  but 
attractive  and  lovable.  The  entire  nation  does  not 
number  more  than  100,000.  Perhaps  a  third  of  these 
now  reside  in  Persia,  the  remainder  across  the  borders 
in  the  Turkish  mountains.  These  mountain  Nestorians 
are  a  wild  people,  living  among  the  Kurds  and  often 
at  war  with  them,  bold,  hardy,  rough,  and  vigorous, 
and  yet  in  some  of  the  valleys  broken  by  oppression 
and  so  wretched  as  to  be  ready  to  accept  any  help  or 
resort  to  any  plan  of  profit. 

The  beginnings  and  development  of  the  mission  work 
among  the  Nestorians  were  traced  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Cochran 
himself  in  a  paper  which  he  read  in  Urumia  in  1898 
on  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  the  entrance  of  Miss 
Cyrene  Van  Duzee  upon  her  missionary  life : 

The  American  Board,  in  the  spring  of  1831,  commissioned 
Messrs.  Dwight  and  Smith,  of  Constantinople,  to  visit  the 
Nestorians,  and  to  learn  what  they  could  of  them.  When 
these  gentlemen  reached  Urumia,  the  plague  was  raging, 
most  of  the  population  was  panic-stricken,  and  it  was  not 
deemed  advisable  for  them  to  tarry  long.  They  visited  the 
Tillages  of  Gavelan,  Kosi,  Geogtapa,  Ada,  Ardeshai,  and 
Teka.  This  plague  had  followed  in  the  wake  of  the  Russo- 
Persian  War  of  1828-9.  The  Shah  had  lost  the  larger 
part  of  his  Armenian  subjects,  and  with  the  returning 
Russians  not  a  few  Nestorians  with  their  families,  had 


THE  MISSION  TO  THE  NESTOBIANS       21 

made  good  their  escape.  The  visit  of  these  two  holy  men, 
and  especially  at  such  a  time,  was  like  that  of  angels 
to  these  people,  to  whom  never  before  had  any  one  come 
with  a  message  of  peace  and  love  and  sympathy  from 
the  Christians  of  the  new  world.  The  report  to  the  Pru- 
dential Committee  was  such  that  steps  were  immediately 
taken  to  procure  competent  men  to  establish  "  A  Mission 
to  the  Nestorians."  It  was  not  until  1833  that  a  suitable 
man  was  found  to  fill  a  post  which  required  so  much 
of  privation,  exposure,  prudence,  wisdom,  and  above  all, 
of  unwavering  faith  and  deep  piety.  Of  Mr.  Justin  Per- 
kins, then  a  tutor  at  Amherst,  who  was  appointed  with 
his  wife,  and  embarked  in  the  little  sailing  ship  bound  from 
Boston  to  Smyrna,  in  September,  1833,  you  know;  and 
how  they  spent  that  first  winter  in  Constantinople,  coming  on 
the  following  spring  by  Trebizond  and  Erzroom.  The 
Kurdish  disturbances  among  the  districts  where  you  have 
toured  and  done  so  much  work  in  the  first  of  your  mis- 
sionary life,  made  it  necessary  for  them  to  strike  across 
into  Russian  territory,  where  they  met  a  foe  not  much  less 
dangerous,  and  if  anything,  more  annoying.  What  with 
quarantine  and  suspicious  officials,  and  an  unsettled  country, 
recently  acquired  and  with  scarce  any  organization,  they 
only  barely  escaped  into  Persia.  Here  again  the  serious 
sickness  of  Mrs.  Perkins  wellnigh  broke  up  the  Mission.  .  .  . 
Accompanied  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Haas  of  the  Basle  Missionary 
Society,  working  in  the  Caucasus,  Mr.  Perkins  visited 
Unimia  in  November,  1834.  He  soon  returned  to  Tabriz, 
accompanied  by  Mar  Yohannan  and  Kasha  Oraham.  The 
winter  was  spent  in  study.  In  1835  Mr.  Merrick  was  sent 
out  to  work  among  the  Moslems,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Grant 
for  the  Nestorians.  In  November,  1835,  this  little  party, 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Perkins,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Grant,  entered 
Urumia.  It  was  raining  drearily,  and  the  plaster  was  peel- 
ing off  the  walls  and  littering  up  the  streets  and  yards  very 
much  as  it  does  now,  and  the  water-spouts  were  pouring 
off  the  muddy  water.  They  came  right  to  these  premises, 
and  very  shortly  after,  opened  the  first  school  in  the  front 
basement  of  one  of  the  present  mission  houses.  We, 
to-day,  may  well  praise  God  that  the  establishment  of  our 
Mission  was  committed  to  such  as  they.  So,  too,  the  pioneers 


22  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

that  followed  were  worthy  men.  Shall  we  look  for  a  moment 
at  the  condition  in  which  our  first  missionaries  found  the 
people?  .  .  .  For  ages  they  had  but  barely  held  their  own, 
nearly  crushed  by  Moslem  and  Papal  enemies.  There  were 
no  merchants  among  them,  and  but  few  common  artisans; 
all  were  peasants.  They  had  no  books  in  the  spoken  lan- 
guage, and  only  those  read  the  ancient  language  who  were 
priests  or  deacons.  But  one  woman  in  the  whole  nation 
could  read,  and  she  but  poorly — the  Patriarch's  sister.  This 
then  was  the  condition  of  the  great  Syrian  Church  that 
once  numbered  its  twenty-five  Metropolitans  and  sent  mis- 
sionaries all  over  Asia.  The  welcome  which  was  given  to 
the  Russian  priests  a  few  months  ago  was  a  mere  circum- 
stance to  that  which  was  extended  to  our  missionaries. 
To-day  the  scholars  in  our  own  schools  number  nearly 
3,000,  but  the  example  and  influence  of  our  educational 
work  has  not  been  limited  to  our  own  community,  for  in 
all  the  villages  of  Urumia  schools  are  the  common  thing 
now.  Many  adults  have  learned  to  read,  chiefly  in  the 
Sabbath  schools. 

The  Press,  which  began  its  mission  in  1844,  has  ever  since 
that  time  been  active  in  the  dissemination  of  helpful  litera- 
ture: the  Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the  spoken  language, 
text-books,  commentaries,  periodicals,  and  pamphlets.  A 
glance  at  the  results  of  the  evangelistic  labours  speaks  for 
itself.  Probably  about  5,000  souls  have  joined  our  Church 
since  the  first  communicants  were  recorded,  twenty  years 
after  the  establishment  of  the  Mission. 

Dr.  Dwight,  who  revisited  TJrumia  in  1861,  just  thirty 
years  after  he  and  Mr.  Smith  had  first  seen  TJrumia,  after 
attending  the  first  Knushya  which  was  held  by  the  Mission 
and  people,  remarked :  "  I  liked  the  appearance  of  the 
preachers;  I  admired  the  spirit  of  many  of  them,  and  was 
moved  by  the  fire  of  their  eloquence,  though  I  understood 
them  only  through  an  interpreter."  From  that  time  to  this 
many  strong  men,  and  eloquent,  have  been  added  to  their 
number.  I  remember  very  well  the  impressive  and  eloquent 
sermon  preached  by  Deacon  Yonan  upon  the  death  of  Dr. 
Perkins,  as  well  as  the  thrilling  speeches  which  others  made. 
Nor  are  the  rich  fruits  of  this  work  confined  to  the  edu- 
cated. Many  and  many  an  obscure  man  and  woman  have 


THE  MISSION  TO  THE  NESTORIANS       23 

been  regenerated,  and  after  living  a  life  of  faith  and  simple 
trust,  have  triumphantly  joined  the  redeemed  above.  Aside 
from  our  own  field  the  work  was  opened  in  other  stations. 
In  '72,  Teheran;  in  '73,  Tabriz;  in  '82,  Hamadan,  and 
in  1884,  Salmas.  In  1880  the  first  hospital  of  any  kind 
in  Persia  was  opened. 

The  changed  position  of  the  educated  natives  in  their 
relation  to  government  officials  and  to  the  land  proprietors, 
is  one  of  the  most  striking  and,  perhaps,  remarkable  of  all 
the  great  changes  that  have  taken  place.  This  is  especially 
true  of  the  medical  men  who  have  attained  a  standing  among 
the  local  officials  which  could  never  have  been  dreamed  of  by 
the  most  enthusiastic  native  friend  of  the  Mission  at  its 
establishment. 

All  of  the  changes,  as  we  know  too  well,  have  come  after 
hard,  unceasing  work,  and  after  battling  against  the  powers 
of  darkness  that  have  been  arrayed  against  our  Mission. 
In  the  winter  of  '45-6  clouds  of  persecution  arose,  shutting 
in  the  whole  sky.  Mar  Shimon,  driven  to  Urumia  by  the 
terrible  massacres  of  Badir  Khan  Beg  and  Nurullah  Beg, 
left  no  stone  unturned  to  have  our  Mission  banished.  Many 
of  the  Khans  of  the  place  joined  him  in  petitioning  the 
government  against  us.  Orders  were  secured  to  close  our 
schools.  The  Governor  came  in  person  to  our  premises, 
and  closed  the  press.  In  many  a  village  and  hamlet  fervent 
prayers  were  being  offered  for  the  integrity  of  the  work. 
The  malicious  reports  reached  the  ears  of  the  Shah.  The 
British  and  Russian  ambassadors  expressed  a  doubt  as  to 
our  being  able  to  remain  where  so  many  had  sealed  the 
petition  against  us. 

At  this  crisis,  and  after  everything  that  human  ingenuity 
could  think  of  had  been  done,  the  dauntless  pioneers  who 
had  never  for  a  moment  lost  faith  in  their  cause,  assembled 
for  special  prayer.  The  footman,  who  used  to  bring  the 
mail  from  Tabriz,  was  overdue.  Fears  were  entertained  that 
this  mail,  of  all  others,  was  robbed,  but  even  while  they 
were  yet  speaking,  a  knock  was  heard  on  the  gate,  and  the 
letters  from  Teheran  and  Tabriz,  so  anxiously  looked  for, 
were  received.  God  had  answered  the  prayers  of  his  serv- 
ants. The  tables  were  turned.  The  Governor  was  ordered 
to  send  Mar  Shimon  to  Tabriz,  and  to  give  the  spiritual 


24  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

teachers  from  a  distant  land  full  right  to  continue  the  work 
of  their  schools  and  press.  As  a  further  seal  of  God's 
approval  of  and  blessing  upon  the  work  some  of  the  richest 
revivals  followed,  revivals  which  produced  the  profoundest 
impression  upon  outsiders  as  well  as  upon  our  own  com- 
munity. Once  more,  some  years  later,  this  same  Askar 
Khan  closed  the  press.  Not  many  days  later,  when  com- 
manding an  expedition  against  a  powerful,  rebellious  chief 
in  Mergawar,  he  was  assassinated  in  his  tent.  Moslems 
and  Christians  looked  upon  this  as  direct  judgment  for  his 
enmity  to  the  "People  of  God."  His  brother,  the  Ikbal  e 
Dowleh,  and  all  his  immediate  relations,  have  ever  since  been 
among  the  Mission's  fast  friends. 

.  .  .  And  yet  again,  we  see  the  mercy  of  God  shown 
to  the  missionaries  in  the  fact  that  thousands  upon  thou- 
sands of  miles  have  been  travelled  by  them  through  deserts, 
oter  the  roughest  mountains,  amid  perils  of  robbers,  and 
perils  of  avalanches,  and  perils  of  rivers,  yes,  and  even  perils 
of  wild  Nestorians,  and  yet  in  no  such  journey  has  any  one 
lost  his  life  by  accident  or  violence. 

On  the  last  Sabbath  which  Dr.  Perkins  spent  in  Persia, 
in  June,  1869,  he  was  asked :  "  Looking  back  over  these 
thirty-six  years,  have  you  seen  as  great  results  as  you  ex- 
pected ? "  He  replied :  "  Far  more.  I  expected  to  see  a 
congregation  or  two  gathered,  but  God  has  given  revivals, 
and  has  raised  up  preachers,  and  gathered  in  harvests  of 
souls.  He  has  been  better  than  my  faith." 

The  writer  of  this  account  did  not  live  to  fill  out  his 
full  thirty  years  of  service  in  Persia,  but  he  fell  only 
a  little  short,  and  in  power  and  fruitfulness  the  life 
that  he  did  live  was  rich  and  was  complete. 


Ill 


ON  June  21st,  1847,  Joseph  G.  Cochran  and  his 
wife  sailed  from  Boston  on  the  little  sailing  ves- 
sel, "Bark  Catalpa,"  bound  for  Malta.  In 
sixty-two  days  after  leaving  Boston  they  reached 
Smyrna.  Two  weeks  more  brought  them  to  Constanti- 
nople. From  Smyrna  to  Malta  is  now  a  journey  of 
fourteen  hours.  The  Atlantic  passage  had  been  hard 
for  Mrs.  Cochran,  and  when  they  reached  Erzroom, 
where  the  cholera  was  bad,  she  was  taken  sick  with 
it,  and  as  winter  had  set  in,  they  decided  to  spend 
the  winter  here  instead  of  going  on  to  Urumia.  The 
mission  house  overlooked  the  cemetery,  and  Mrs. 
Cochran  used  to  say  that  the  fighting  of  the  dogs  and 
wolves  at  night  over  the  dead  bodies  which  they  easily 
dug  out  of  the  shallow  graves  did  more  than  anything 
else  to  make  her  determined  to  live  to  get  to  Urumia. 
Mr.  Cochran  spent  the  winter  studying  Syriac  with  a 
Nestorian  preacher  who  had  been  sent  over  to  meet 
him.  In  March  their  first  child  was  born,  and  late  in 
the  summer  of  1848  they  reached  Urumia. 

Mr.  Cochran  worked  among  the  Nestorians  for 
twenty-three  years.  His  special  work  was  the  train- 
ing of  the  native  preachers,  and  into  this  he  threw  all 
his  ardent  nature,  sending  out  men  bearing  his  impress 
far  and  wide  over  Persia  and  Kurdistan.  On  Sundays 
and  in  vacations  and  when  the  Seminary  was  not  in 

25 


26  JOSEPH  PLUMB  GOCHBAN 

session,  he  was  off  in  the  villages  or  among  the  moun- 
tains in  Turkey,  while  at  home,  in  addition  to  the  work 
of  teaching,  he  prepared  the  text-books  for  printing 
and  saw  them  through  the  press,  rising  early  to  do 
this  before  the  other  work  of  the  day  had  begun.  He 
was  one  who  never  spared  himself,  and  who  indulged 
in  no  self-praise  and  sought  no  praise  from  others  for 
hard  work  and  faithfulness  to  duty. 

Some  recollections  of  one  of  the  daughters  will 
illustrate  his  spirit  and  methods  of  work  and  show 
something  of  the  character  of  the  home  life  in  which 
Joseph,  his  son,  grew  up: — 

The  memories  of  my  father  always  vividly  recall  the 
Sabbath  days  of  my  childhood.  He  was  strenuous  in  his 
observance  of  the  holy  day.  Each  hour  had  its  religious 
exercise  or  appointment.  During  the  term  time  of  the 
college  many  of  the  Sabbaths  were  devoted  to  class  and  in- 
dividual conferences  and  talks.  But  often  he  visited  one  or 
more  of  the  villages  in  his  care.  We  children  took  our  turns 
in  going  with  him.  It  was  never  hard  for  me  to  rise, 
however  early  it  might  be  necessary  to  start.  Father  would 
ride  on  horseback,  and  for  a  time  I  had  my  place  on  the 
saddle-cloth  behind  him.  Our  tried  and  true  Pera  would 
accompany  us  on  another  horse.  I  remember  one  Sabbath 
we  started  before  light,  and  as  we  watched  the  day  dawn 
and  the  sun  brighten,  then  blaze  over  the  beautiful  lake, 
father  compared  the  splendour  of  the  scene  to  the  work  of 
the  Sun  of  Righteousness  arising  with  healing  in  his  wings. 
I  was  so  impressed  with  such  words  of  his  that  once  when 
I  heard  a  native  speak  of  a  journey  he  took  before  the 
missionaries  arrived,  I  impetuously  asked  how  he  could  see 
to  travel.  I  couldn't  realize  that  there  was  any  light  at 
all  before  the  gospel  was  preached. 

Sometimes  it  took  us  hours  to  reach  our  destination;  but 
they  were  happy  hours  to  me.  I  enjoyed  father's  talk. 
On  these  trips  I  learned  much  of  his  early  life.  But  he 
never  forgot  the  day,  and  would  only  speak  of  the  Sabbaths 


HIS  MISSIONARY  PARENTAGE  27 

in  his  boyhood,  and  his  religious  experiences  then  and  at 
Amherst  College  and  Union  Theological  Seminary,  and  how 
he  came  to  decide  to  be  a  missionary. 

Sometimes  we  met  others  on  the  way,  and  after  the  usual 
formal  Oriental  salutations,  the  conversation  would  lead  to 
a  religious  topic.  Often  the  effects  of  Christianity  in  the 
United  States  would  be  the  theme,  and  my  imagination 
pictured  a  land  where  "every  prospect  pleases,"  and  every 
man  was  good. 

Arriving  at  the  village,  if  there  was  a  church,  and  the 
native  pastor  had  been  one  of  father's  pupils,  we  received 
a  most  hearty  welcome.  The  services  would  often  be  in  the 
one  living-room  of  the  mud  and  stone  parsonage,  and  later 
we  sat  around  a  wooden  tray,  and  had  dinner  on  the  floor, 
and  father,  faithfully  using  every  minute,  would  ask  ques- 
tions about  the  pastoral  work;  often  a  case  of  discipline 
would  be  discussed.  Sometimes  individuals  would  be  sent 
for,  and  before  mounting  his  horse  and  saying  good-bye, 
he  would  bring  about  a  reconciliation  between  disaffected 
members. 

If  the  distance  permitted,  we  went  to  a  second  village 
for  afternoon  service. 

When  I  was  not  the  one  to  go  with  father,  I,  with  the 
other  children  left  behind,  would  eagerly  watch  for  his 
return.  Toward  night  we  would  often  go  upon  the  roof  to 
scan  the  road,  and  when  we  saw  the  well-known  horsemen, 
mother  would  allow  us  to  run  out  a  little  way  to  meet  them. 
Father  would  often  be  very  tired,  and  as  he  rested  on  the 
lounge,  we  children  gathered  around  him  and  heard  his 
story  of  the  day's  work.  There  were  always  incidents  of 
interest,  often  pathetic,  sometimes  tragic. 

After  our  simple  Sunday  night  supper,  we  always  had 
our  family  service.  We  had  questions  in  the  old  Catechism 
to  answer,  and  each  of  us  children  had  to  recite  a  hymn 
and  some  passages  of  Scripture,  and  then  we  sang,  each  in 
turn  making  a  selection.  Among  father's  favourites  were, 
"  Guide  me,  O  Thou  great  Jehovah,"  "  O  Thou  in  whose 
presence  my  soul  takes  delight,"  and  "  There  is  a  fountain 
filled  with  blood."  In  1862,  the  Sabbath  after  sister  Mary 
had  started  for  the  United  States,  father  chose  "I'm  a 
pilgrim  and  I'm  a  stranger,"  and  as  he  sang  it  his  voice 


28       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

trembled  and  his  eyes  filled  with  tears.  We  knew  he  felt 
that  the  expected  breaking  up  of  the  family  had  begun. 

One  of  my  father's  habits  was  having  at  regular  intervals 
a  personal  private  talk  with  each  child,  in  which  he  ques- 
tioned their  spiritual  condition.  When  I  had  been  naughty 
I  dreaded  these  interviews,  but  some  of  them  were  happy 
even  then,  and  they  are  precious  memories  now. 

I  think  of  mother  as  the  most  generous  person  I  ever  saw. 
She  gave  of  her  sympathies,  her  strength,  her  self,  her 
possessions.  Her  life  was  one  of  loving  service  to  others. 

During  a  terrible  famine  that  I  can  remember,  mother 
gave  and  gave  until  she  suffered  from  the  lack  of  what  she 
had  given.  One  day,  a  poor  woman  came  to  the  door.  In 
her  arms  was  a  baby  which  she  tried  in  vain  to  cover  by 
the  miserable  rags  that  but  partly  concealed  the  skin  and 
bones  of  her  own  thin  skeleton  of  a  body.  Mother  looked 
around.  She  dared  not  spare  another  garment.  I  had  just 
finished  a  little  patchwork  quilt  for  my  doll's  bed.  Mother 
asked  if  I  would  give  that.  The  quilt  was  my  pride.  I 
hesitated,  but  gave  it.  Mother  sewed  some  bits  of  tape  on 
one  side,  and  tied  it  around  the  shivering  little  form. 

Mother  was  the  soul  of  hospitality.  The  visits  of  her 
brother  and  sister  missionaries  gave  her  great  joy.  She 
tried  to  make  our  mountain  home  at  Seir,  six  miles  from 
the  city,  a  resting  place  to  the  weary  workers.  I  was  very 
young  when  Miss  Fidelia  Fiske  came  up  from  TJrumia  one 
day,  and  said  to  mother,  "Your  home  is  the  best  place  for 
a  little  vacation,  and  so  I  had  to  come."  I  remember  many 
such  tributes  from  the  early  missionaries,  now  saints  above. 
She  was  a  true  mother  to  the  native  pastors  and  their  wives. 
A  loving  greeting  and  a  seat  at  the  table  were  always  ready 
for  them.  She  warmly  welcomed  the  schoolboys,  her  native 
neighbours,  and  the  distant  villagers.  Few  there  were  who 
came  to  her  door  and  left  unbidden  to  enter. 

Mother  held  regular  mothers'  meetings  with  the  women 
of  the  village,  and  often  I  have  sat  on  the  floor  and  heard 
her  pleasant,  helpful  talks  in  which  her  own  early  home 
training  came  in  for  its  share  in  illustrations. 

The  sick  in  the  village  received  her  tender  ministrations. 
We  children  often  went  with  her  as  she  took  needed  nourish- 
ment, or  something  to  make  a  patient  more  comfortable. 


HIS  MISSIONARY  PARENTAGE  29 

She  would  give  directions  for  baths  and  clean  garments, 
and  often  would  sit  by  the  sufferer  and,  gently  soothing, 
give  cheer  and  courage. 

Of  mother  it  might  always  have  been  said, 

"  She  doeth  little  kindnesses, 
Which  most  leave  undone,  or  despise; 
For  naught  that  sets  one  heart   at  ease, 
And  giveth  happiness  or  peace, 
Is  low-esteemed  in  her  eyes." 

Mr.  Cochran's  only  furlough  in  America  during  his 
twenty-three  years  of  missionary  service  was  in  1865-7. 
In  July,  1865,  he  and  Mrs.  Cochran  and  five  of  their 
children,  the  oldest  having  preceded  them  to  America, 
returned  to  the  old  homestead  at  Springville,  after 
eighteen  years'  absence.  The  winter  was  spent  in 
Buffalo.  While  at  home  Mr.  Cochran  temporarily  filled 
the  pulpit  of  the  church  at  Glenwood,  N.  Y.  He  did 
this  with  such  satisfaction  to  the  people  that  he  was 
called  to  the  pastorate.  His  friends  brought  all  their 
powers  of  persuasion  to  bear  upon  him  to  induce  him 
to  accept.  They  urged  that  after  his  long  service  in 
the  mission  field,  he  should  remain  at  home  and  look 
after  the  education  of  his  children.  He  was  deaf  to 
all  such  persuasion.  It  was  his  duty  to  return  to  Per- 
sia, and  nothing  could  turn  him  aside.  On  July  17th, 
1867,  he  and  Mrs.  Cochran  and  four  of  the  children 
including  the  two  boys,  Joseph  and  Theodore,  sailed 
from  Boston.  Mr.  Cochran  never  returned  to  Amer- 
ica again. 

He  threw  himself  at  once  on  his  return  into  his 
work  in  Urumia  and  over  the  border  in  Turkey. 

Besides  being  an  indefatigable  evangelist  and  an 
enthusiastic  teacher,  Mr.  Cochran  had  earnest  convic- 
tions on  mission  policy.  The  missionaries  had  come 


30  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

out  to  the  Nestorians  under  instructions  to  work  within 
this  ancient  Church  with  a  view  to  its  reformation. 
It  was  hoped  that  the  Old  Church  could  be  kept  intact, 
with  its  organization  and  forms  undisturbed  save  so 
far  as  they  would  inevitably  be  modified  by  a  new 
spirit  of  life  within.  For  years  the  missionaries 
sought  to  follow  out  this  policy.  But  it  was  hard  to 
put  new  wine  into  old  bottles,  and  the  new  cloth  sewed 
on  the  old  garment  made  the  rent  worse.  The  evan- 
gelical element  in  the  Old  Church  was  not  content 
under  the  old  forms,  and  the  element  in  the  Church 
which  had  rejected  the  evangelical  spirit  and  the  true 
life  resisted  the  new  influence.  In  consequence,  Mr. 
Cochran  and  some  others,  natives  as  well  as  mission- 
aries, believed  that  the  only  right  course  was  to  make 
a  complete  severance.  The  missionaries  differed  in 
opinion  on  the  subject.  Dr.  Perkins  was  conservative. 
Mr.  Cochran  was  the  radical.  His  desire  was,  as  Dr. 
Labaree  said,  "  to  see  a  more  complete  and  formal 
separation  of  the  evangelical  Nestorians  from  the  Old 
Church — a  more  thorough  sundering  of  every  tie  which 
united  the  Reformed  Church  to  the  corrupt  and  effete 
system  out  of  which  it  had  gradually  emerged.  To 
build  up  a  Church  untrammelled  with  dry  remnants 
of  a  hierarchy  or  of  superstition,  organized  for  self- 
direction  and  self-support,  was  the  aim  of  his  mis- 
sionary life,  to  which  he  gave  himself  with  peculiar 
earnestness  in  his  later  years."  With  the  aim  of  self- 
direction  and  self-support  his  son  after  him  entirely 
sympathized  and  believed  also  that  on  the  whole  the 
missionaries  had  pursued  the  only  possible  course  in 
promoting  the  separation  of  the  evangelical  body  from 
the  Old  Church,  which  indeed  they  could  not  have 
prevented.  The  absorption  of  the  Old  Church  in  1899 


HIS  MISSIONARY  PARENTAGE  31 

by  the  Greek  Church  priests  from  Russia  seems  to  have 
shown  how  wise  it  had  been  to  draw  out  a  strong, 
earnest  evangelical  body  established  upon  its  own 
foundations.  But  Dr.  Cochran  always  regretted  keenly 
the  consequences  of  this  separation,  the  constriction 
of  influence  in  the  Old  Church  which  it  involved  and 
its  other  inevitable  and  unfortunate  effects,  and  would 
have  welcomed  any  way  of  escape  from  them. 

In  all  her  husband's  work  Mrs.  Cochran  was  a  tire- 
less and  devoted  helper.  She  went  with  him  occa- 
sionally on  his  journeys,  and  her  warm,  affectionate 
nature  was  a  powerful  influence  among  the  Nestorians, 
who  are  peculiarly  sensitive  to  friendship.  As  the 
children  came  into  her  home,  more  of  her  time  was 
required  there,  but  no  home  cares  ever  prevented  her 
from  taking  a  most  active  part  in  the  work  of  the 
Mission,  and  her  home  life  was  itself  a  centre  of  great 
missionary  influence.  There  was  always  a  place  at  the 
table  for  any  visitor,  and  in  times  of  need  she  shared 
all  that  she  had  with  the  needy.  As  some  of  the  chil- 
dren passed  on  to  be  with  the  Shepherd  of  the  little 
children  in  His  heavenly  home,  and  their  little  bodies 
were  laid  away  in  the  quiet  burial  place  on  Mt.  Seir, 
and  as  other  children  went  away  for  education  in 
America,  and  the  home  and  its  hearts  felt  the  deep 
tragedies  of  missionary  sacrifice,  the  ministry  of  un- 
selfish sympathy  and  love  only  increased. 

Extracts  from  her  letters  to  her  children  and  to 
friends  at  home  will  best  reveal  the  character  of  Dr. 
Cochran's  mother  and  of  the  home  life  wherein  his 
own  character  was  shaped : — 

MT.  SEIR,  February  14th,  1868. — It  is  one  of  those  wild 
mornings  with  which  the  dwellers  of  Mount  Seir  are  so 
familiar.  It  blew  and  snowed  all  night.  We  can't  see 


32  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

many  rods  from  the  walls  of  our  snow-capped  house.  The 
boys,  well  wrapped,  started  off  with  the  messenger  for 
Mary's  school  at  the  city.  I  trembled  to  let  them  go  such 
a  morning.  I  watched  Pera  at  the  gate  making  them  snug 
and  firm  on  the  colt.  Our  boys  have  become  good  horsemen, 
and  the  animal  loves  them,  laying  his  head  on  their  shoulders 
to  be  petted.  Mary  went  down  in  the  bright  sunshine  yes- 
terday morning.  Could  we  now  look  down  upon  the  plain, 
we  should  probably  see  a  warm  spring  shower  falling  re- 
freshingly upon  it.  However,  we  too  shall  have  warm 
weather  by  and  by.  I  feel  the  dampness  in  the  winter. 
Our  rooms  leak  more  or  less,  the  kitchen  incessantly,  and 
the  plastering  keeps  coming  down.  I  often  think  of  the 
beautiful,  neat,  and  convenient  kitchens  in  America,  and 
think  if  my  friends  could  see  mine  here,  they  would  prize 
theirs  more  than  ever.  .  .  . 

We  take  tea  at  Mr.  Shedd's  to-night.  It  is  the  only 
evening  your  father  is  free  from  his  Seminary  duties.  We 
hoped  we  would  have  a  mail  to  talk  over.  Our  monthly  mail 
was  due  a  week  ago,  but  has  not  yet  come. 

MT.  SEIR,  May  31st,  1868. — It  is  a  lovely  morning.  All 
nature  has  on  her  most  attractive  dress,  and  the  very  birds 
seem  effervescing  with  happiness.  The  doors  and  windows 
are  wide  open,  and  such  a  view  as  stretches  out  before  the 
two  great  windows  in  my  room,  it  seems  to  me,  cannot  be 
surpassed  by  any  in  the  world.  The  descent  from  our  moun- 
tain home,  the  plain  so  green  and  beautiful,  with  here  and 
there  a  high,  pointed  mountain,  looking  strange  and  alone, 
as  though  it  had  wandered  away  from  its  fellows.  The  blue 
lake  beyond,  bounded  by  the  lofty  ridge  of  snow-capped 
mountains  on  the  other  wise.  I  am  never  weary  feasting  my 
eyes  on  this  sight.  The  peculiarly  clear  atmosphere  of  Per- 
sia makes  objects  quite  distant  stand  out  with  wonderful 
exactness.  Above,  in  the  blue  vault,  is  the  moon,  apparently 
a  neighbouring  planet,  somewhat  veiled  in  a  white  fleecy 
cloud;  on  the  whole,  the  Queen  of  night  seems  like  a  near 
neighbour,  and  heaven  seems  nearer.  A  hush  is  upon  every- 
thing, and  you  almost  fancy  that  you  hear  wafted  upon  the 
breeze  the  music  of  that  Home  which  invites  all  of  earth's 
wanderers.  The  house  is  still.  Your  dear  father  has  gone 


HIS  MISSIONARY  PARENTAGE  33 

to  the  mountains  to  meet  the  native  pastors  in  a  large  meet- 
ing. Mary  is  on  her  bed,  for  she  has  become  quite  an 
invalid  since  receiving  an  injury  from  being  thrown  from 
her  horse.  Josie  and  Theodore  are  in  their  room.  Josie 
is  reading  aloud  to  Theodore,  and  Emma  sits  by  listening. 
I  am  alone  in  my  room.  Half  of  my  children  are  gone; 
two  in  America,  and  two  in  the  better  land,  "  Sweet  Carrie, 
'  Suffer  little  children  to  come  unto  me '  " ;  "  Darling  Martha, 
'  For  of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven/  "  cut  deep  in  the 
stones  in  the  precious  graveyard,  on  the  hill  near  by,  look 
fresh  as  though  my  dear  children  had  recently  left  me,  and 
seem  indicative  of  the  sorrow  which  will  never  be  effaced. 


In  1869  Mary  was  compelled  to  return  to  America  for 
treatment  for  the  injury  of  the  spine  due  to  the  fall 
from  a  horse  mentioned  by  her  mother,  and  when  it  was 
believed  that  she  was  dying,  Mrs.  Cochran  was  called 
back  in  1870  to  be  with  her.  She  brought  Joseph  and 
the  other  sister,  Theodore  having  died  in  Persia  in  1869. 
The  mother  and  Joseph  and  two  sisters  spent  the  win- 
ter of  1870-1  in  Buffalo,  and  the  injured  daughter 
having  recovered,  Mrs.  Cochran  and  two  daughters, 
her  second  and  her  yougest,  left  for  Persia  in  August, 
1871,  reaching  Constantinople  September  4th.  Joseph 
remained  in  America  for  his  education.  Mr.  Cochran 
arrived  in  Constantinople  to  meet  them  the  same 
afternoon,  having  come  from  Urumia  in  ten  days.  The 
ordinary  travelling  time  from  Urumia  to  Trebizond 
was  over  three  weeks.  Mr.  Cochran  rode  the  distance 
on  fast  horses  in  six  days,  sometimes  galloping  most 
of  the  hours  of  the  day.  The  year  of  Mrs.  Cochran's 
absence  had  been  a  very  hard  one  for  him.  Deeply 
attached  to  his  home,  and  needing  its  checks  and  diver- 
sions, he  had  only  saved  himself  from  utter  loneliness 
and  sickness  by  unsparing  toil.  He  carried  all  the 
work  of  the  Seminary,  teaching  and  lecturing.  Every 


34  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Saturday  he  went  off  for  Sunday  in  the  villages,  work- 
ing ceaselessly,  and  Monday  was  back  at  the  Seminary 
again.  He  could  not  be  idle  or  permit  himself  to 
escape  from  the  preoccupation  of  work.  The  year's 
activity  and  the  absence  of  all  his  loved  ones  wore 
heavily  upon  him,  and  he  reached  Constantinople  thin 
and  worn  and  grey,  after  his  exhausting  ride,  which 
had  been  rendered  necessary  by  the  late  closing  of  the 
Seminary,  leaving  him  only  ten  days  for  his  journey. 
As  soon  as  possible  they  started  back  for  Urumia, 
but  Mr.  Cochran  found  time  to  repair  a  deficiency  of 
the  past  which  his  love  lamented.  There  had  been  no 
wedding  ring  when  he  was  married.  The  ideal  of  mis- 
sionary iife  which  prevailed  then  in  many  places 
deemed  such  expenditure  wrong.  When  a  part  of  the 
family  silver  was  given  to  Deborah  Plumb,  the  silver 
sugar  bowl  and  tongs  were  unanimously  omitted  from 
the  tea  set  with  the  words,  "  Of  course  missionaries 
won't  have  sugar,  so  Deborah  won't  need  these."  In 
more  than  one  time  of  destitution  later,  Deborah  went 
without  more  than  sugar,  but  Mr.  Cochran  was  de- 
termined to  repair  the  lack  of  the  wedding  ring.  How 
he  did  it  one  of  the  daughters  who  was  with  him 
relates : — 

We  went  to  an  Italian  hotel  in  Pera  for  the  night,  and 
my  father  came  into  my  room  and  asked  me  for  a  piece  of 
cloth,  and  needle  and  thread.  He  would  not  say  what  for, 
when  I  offered  to  sew  what  he  wanted.  The  next  morning 
he  was  off  a  little  while,  and  then  came  back,  and  together 
we  went  to  the  house  of  Dr.  Isaac  Bliss.  After  three  days, 
we  took  the  steamer  for  Trebizond,  and  then  on  horseback 
the  700  miles.  October  16th,  my  father  was  taken  very 
ill,  and  had  to  get  off  from  his  horse  and  lie  down  often. 
Our  guards  had  to  hurry  us  along.  That  night  we  spent 
at  a  village  where  Judith  Perkins  died  of  cholera  in  1852. 


HIS  MISSIONARY  PARENTAGE  35 

Toward  morning  my  father  asked  my  mother  to  light  the 
candle,  and  tell  him  the  time.  She  did  so,  and  he  said, 
"It  is  now  October  17th,  so  it  is  your  birthday."  He 
asked  her  for  her  scissors  and  his  vest;  then  he  ripped  out 
from  the  lining  a  white  patch,  the  cloth  I  had  given  him, 
and  under  it  was  a  gold  wedding  ring.  He  said,  "  When  I 
married  you  it  was  thought  a  sin  for  a  missionary  to  spend 
anything  for  jewelry,  and  a  ring  was  called  that;  now  I 
want  to  give  you  a  wedding  ring.  I  measured  your  finger 
in  your  sleep  the  first  night  in  Constantinople,  and  I  meant 
to  give  this  to  you  on  our  wedding  anniversary  next  June, 
but  I  shall  not  live  even  until  Christmas,  so  I  give  this  to 
you  on  your  birthday." 

The  party  reached  Urumia  October  19th,  1871,  and 
that  evening  Mr.  Cochran  conducted  the  station  prayer 
meeting  of  welcome.  The  next  day  he  cleared  up  his 
accounts  of  the  journey,  settled  with  the  native 
preachers  with  whom  there  were  any  financial  rela- 
tions, made  his  will,  and  then  went  to  bed  with  typhoid 
fever,  from  which  he  died  on  November  2nd,  at  the  age 
of  fifty-four, — the  same  disease  and  almost  the  same 
age  as  in  the  case  of  his  son  thirty  years  later.  His 
mind  in  the  last  days  was  full  of  thoughts  of  the  work, 
and  in  his  delirium  he  imagined  he  was  talking  with 
the  native  preachers  whom  he  loved  and  for  whose 
annual  conference  he  was  preparing.  His  last  intelli- 
gible words  as  he  addressed  this  imaginary  gathering 
were,  "  Go  forward,"  and  "  The  subjects  are  exhausted. 
In  the  morning  we  may  disperse."  In  the  morning  his 
work  was  done,  and  he  passed  forward  to  begin  anew. 
There  was  no  telegraph  in  Persia  then,  and  the  children 
did  not  hear  of  their  father's  death  until  the  end  of 
January. 

A  few  days  after  the  event,  writing  to  the  children 
of  their  great  loss  and  of  her  future  plans,  Mrs. 
Cochran  said: — 


36       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

When  talking  with  him  of  the  possibility  of  his  removal, 
I  asked  him  what  he  wished  me  to  do.  He  replied,  "  Don't 
go  home,  stay  here  as  long  as  you  feel  happy  in  doing  so. 
So  much  to  be  done."  His  wish  to  die  here  has  been 
granted,  and  he  "fell  with  the  harness  on,  in  the  height 
of  his  usefulness,"  as  Mr.  Labaree  remarked  at  his  funeral. 
After  a  short  service  at  the  house,  we  went  to  the  chapel. 
Mr.  Coan  conducted  the  services.  Many  of  the  native 
preachers  spoke.  From  the  plain  of  TJrumia  to  Teheran, 
and  through  the  Kurdish  mountains,  down  to  the  plain  of 
Mesopotamia  are  scattered  preachers  whom  he  had  prepared 
for  the  work.  They  told  of  his  visits  to  their  villages. 
Days  when  cold  storms  of  winter  blew,  he  would  arrive 
towards  night  and,  after  resting  a  little,  call  the  people 
together  and  talk  with  them  until  near  midnight.  One 
said,  "  No  matter  how  early  we  rose  there  was  a  light  in 
Sahib's  room,  and  when  we  looked  in  there  he  sat  reading 
the  Bible,  and  then  we  knew  from  whence  his  strength 
came."  Several  spoke  of  his  son  Joseph,  saying,  "  He  must 
come  to  us,  and  take  the  place  of  his  father." 

NOVEMBER  10th,  1871. — It  is  evening,  and  I  am  seated  at 
the  table  in  the  old  familiar  dining-room.  I  have  worked 
very  hard  all  day,  every  little  while  I  would  be  obliged  to 
sit  down  and  give  way  to  my  feelings.  I  have  spent  almost 
a  quarter  of  a  century  in  this  dear  old  home  with  the  only 
man  I  ever  loved;  here,  child  after  child  has  been  born; 
here  three  have  taken  their  flight  to  the  better  land;  here 
has  been  all  that  to  me  has  been  embraced  in  the  word 
Home  since  I  left  my  father's  house.  Everything  in  and 
about  the  house  seems  sacred. 

Mar  Yohannan  called  the  other  day  and  wept  like  a  child 
as  he  talked  of  your  father. 

One  of  the  preachers  said,   "  We  are  all  left  orphans." 

In  the  meeting  of  the  Presbytery,  which  occurred  last 
week,  many  rose  and  stated  that  Mr.  Cochran  had  been  the 
means  under  God  of  bringing  them  to  Christ. 

The  natives  are  intensely  interested  to  have  Joseph  come 
back  when  his  studies  are  ended,  saying,  "  Tell  him  to  come 
and  seize  the  standard  which  has  fallen  from  the  hand  of 
his  father." 


HIS  MISSIONARY  PARENTAGE  37 

Oh,  my  son,  may  you  be  baptized  with  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  for  this  holy  work.  It  is  more  to  be  desired  than  the 
most  honourable  position  among  men.  Could  my  children 
be  about  me  here,  nothing  would  make  my  last  days  happier 
than  to  labour  on  here  as  I  have  strength,  and  finally  seek 
my  lasting  resting  place  beside  your  dear  father  and  the 
three  dear  children  who  sleep  their  last  sleep  in  our  cemetery 
close  beside  the  only  home  I  have  ever  known  in  Persia. 

Further  conference  with  missionary  associates  and 
Nestorian  friends  confirmed  her  purpose  to  spend  in 
Persia  the  life  which  had  been  given  to  the  work  a 
quarter  of  a  century  before,  and  deepened  the  desire 
that  her  son  should  return  to  take  his  father's  place. 
To  her  children  she  wrote: — 

URUMIA,  December  22nd,  1871. — Deacon  T.  and  Priest  H. 
were  here  to  breakfast.  We  always  have  prayers  in  Syriac 
in  the  morning,  and  in  English  at  night.  Deacon  T.  prayed 
that  you,  Joseph,  might  return  to  fill,  and  more  than  fill, 
your  father's  place,  even  as  Solomon  did  David's.  I  said 
Amen  from  a  full  heart.  The  eyes  of  all  are  on  you  as 
much  as  ever  were  a  people's  on  the  son  of  their  deceased 
King.  May  they  not  be  disappointed. 

How  different  this  Christmas  from  last!  It  seems  as  if, 
if  I  did  not  press  my  hand  upon  my  heart,  it  would  burst. 
I  am  looking  over  your  father's  letters. 

JANUARY  1st,  1872. — Those  who  revere  the  memory  of 
your  father,  Joseph,  look  forward  to  your  filling  his  place. 
Their  enthusiasm  is  truly  wonderful  to  me,  and  often  it 
seems  to  me  a  bow  of  promise  that  you  will  eventually  be 
welcomed  back  to  this  locality.  But  I  am  willing  to  leave 
it  to  the  Lord  to  direct,  believing  that  you  have  committed 
your  ways  to  Him. 

Mrs.  Cochran  went  on  with  her  work  in  Persia  for 
twenty-two  years  after  her  husband's  death,  and  in 
due  time  her  hopes  of  her  son's  return  were  fulfilled. 
On  March  llth,  1876,  she  wrote  to  a  friend : — 


38  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

It  is  Saturday  afternoon.    Everything  is  quietly  settled 
for   the    Sabbath.     After  looking   after   my   work,    sending 

some  comforts  to  B 's  widow  who  is  ill,  I  changed  my 

dress,  and  sat  down  to  write.  I  am  in  what  we  call  the 
little  sitting-room.  It  is  what  was  the  winter  bedroom. 
My  "heart  tightened,"  and  I  felt  I  must  get  into  one  of 
the  front  rooms  to  sit.  Now  I  sit  by  the  window  writing, 
alternately  looking  off  on  to  the  plain,  fresh  from  the  spring 
rain,  and  back  on  the  cheerful  fire.  It  seems  so  like  the 
fireplace  in  the  dear  old  room  at  father's  in  Gowanda.  It 
is  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  since  I  left  that  father's 
home,  and  my  testimony  now  is  that  were  I  to  begin  life 
over  again,  I  would  choose  this  missionary  work.  I  would 
only  ask  the  Lord  for  a  greater  spirit  of  consecration. 
Here  I  hope  to  welcome  back  my  only  son,  and  at  last  to 
rest  beside  my  dear  husband  in  the  sacred  inclosure  on 
Mount  Seir. 


IV 
BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION 

FROM  his  birth  in  1855  until  his  father's  return 
on  furlough  in  1865,  Joseph  spent  his  life  in  the 
family  home  on  Mt.  Seir,  about  six  miles  from 
the  city  of  Urumia.  From  the  top  of  the  mountain 
there  is  a  magnificent  view  westward  to  the  passes 
into  the  valleys  running  up  into  the  Turkish  mountains 
and  northeastward  over  the  plain  of  Urumia  and  the 
city  and  the  blue  lake.  In  the  winter  the  mountains 
were  white  with  snow,  and  wood  fires  must  be  kept  up 
in  the  little  stoves  which  the  missionaries  introduced 
and  taught  the  people  to  use.  In  the  spring,  hillside 
and  plain  were  covered  with  flowers,  or  green  grass  and 
grain,  and  even  in  the  hot  summer  and  fall,  when  the 
unirrigated  country  was  barren  and  brown,  the  well- 
watered  plain  of  Urumia,  with  the  gardens  and  vine- 
yards and  long  rows  of  stately  poplar  trees,  lay  out 
under  the  boy's  eyes  like  a  great  Persian  carpet. 

As  a  child,  Joseph  Cochran  was  what  he  was  also 
as  a  man,  unselfish,  faithful,  modest,  capable,  con- 
scientious, and  entirely  dependable.  "Josie  and 
Thedie,"  writes  his  mother  of  the  two  little  boys  one 
October,  "  are  getting  in  and  piling  the  winter's  supply 
of  wood."  To  a  sick  Kurd,  she  writes,  he  had  just 
brought  in  a  great  bunch  of  flowers  which  he  had 
gathered  on  the  hillside.  In  a  loving  picture  of  the 
family  circle  on  a  winter  evening,  she  speaks  of  him 
as  working  industriously  over  music.  He  was  full  of 

39 


40  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

life  and  play,  and  in  the  childish  games  of  the  chil- 
dren his  favourite  role  was  that  of  physician.  Recol- 
lections of  his  sisters  reproduce  the  spirit  and  ways 
pf  his  boyhood. 

My  earliest  recollection  of  him  is  as  a  quiet,  gentle  boy. 
He  was  always  sweet-tempered. 

When  we  assumed  different  characters  in  our  plays,  Josie 
was  invariably  "Doctor  Lyon."  I  remember  the  dignity 
with  which  he  would  appear,  wearing  one  of  father's  hats, 
tipped  back  on  his  head,  to  prevent  its  covering  his  face, 
and  a  long  coat  dragging  on  the  floor.  He  would  examine 
the  patient's  pulse  and  tongue,  and  gravely  administer  bread 
pills  or  salted  water.  The  prescriptions  were  taken  as  a 
matter  of  course. 

Sometimes  we  played  that  the  Kurds  had  attacked  and 
wounded  us,  and  the  doctor  would  be  called  to  bandage  the 
cuts.  He  was  skilful,  sympathetic,  serious,  as  he  bound  the 
supposed  gashes  in  our  heads  or  on  our  hands. 

It  was  always  difficult  for  Josie  to  take  a  rough  or  boister- 
ous part  in  a  game.  The  character  that  was  most  natural 
to  him  as  a  boy  in  his  play  was  one  in  which  he  could  serve 
others  with  calmness  and  bravery  in  the  midst  of  supposed 
danger  or  suffering.  Sometimes  we  built  a  small  stone  fort 
under  the  apricot  trees  in  our  front  yard  at  Seir.  One  or 
more  would  be  inside  the  low  wall,  with  Joe  as  chief  guard. 
When  the  enemy  appeared  he  would  be  master  of  the  situa- 
tion; but  his  fun  was  always  within  bounds;  and  there 
were  a  self-control  and  a  diplomacy  in  his  manner  which  were 
more  effective  than  our  stick  swords  and  guns. 

In  1861,  while  on  a  journey  to  Bitlis,  our  family  were 
attacked  and  robbed  by  a  band  of  heavily  armed  and  masked 
Kurds.  Sister  Mary,  unselfishly  forgetting  possible  per- 
sonal danger,  pulled  off  her  hat,  and  struck  at  the  Kurd 
who  had  cut  our  faithful  Pera;  I  was  sobbing  and,  thinking 
death  was  near,  begged  forgiveness  from  one  and  another 
for  all  my  faults;  true  to  himself,  Joe  calmly  witnessed  the 
robbery,  even  to  the  carrying  off  of  his  favourite  horse, 
and  when  the  Kurds  were  out  of  sight,  he  remained  silent, 
though  visibly  indignant  at  the  outrage. 


BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION  41 

I  remember  once,  after  he  had  escorted  mother  to  Dr. 
Perkins's  house,  his  chivalrous  manner  attracted  the  notice 
of  that  fine  old-school  gentleman,  and  he  spoke  of  Josie  as 
a  "young  nobleman." 

For  the  little  store  he  kept,  I  remember  also,  that  he 
paid  postage  for  virus  that  was  furnished  by  the  British 
consul,  and  vaccinated  many  with  my  mother's  pen-knife, 
though  he  was  a  little  boy.  Every  memory  of  him  is  pecu- 
liarly sweet;  he  was  full  of  fun  and  mischief,  but  always 
anxious  not  to  hurt  any  one's  feelings,  and  would  make  it 
right,  if  he  thought  he  had.  I  remember  how  heartbroken 
he  was  when  the  Rev.  Henry  N.  Cobb  pretended  to  be 
jealous  because  Joe,  a  very  little  fellow,  five  years  old, 
snuggled  in  Mrs.  Cobb's  lap,  and  kissed  her,  most  enthusi- 
astically, every  chance  he  had.  He  went  off  by  himself  and 
cried,  and  when  I  found  him,  he  said,  "  Katie,  do  you  think 
Mr.  Cobb  and  God  will  forgive  me.  I  didn't  think  he  would 
care  if  I  kissed  her,  she  is  such  a  sweet  lady.  What  do  you 
think  I  can  do  to  make  it  right  ? " 

In  1865,  Joseph  went  to  America  with  the  family, 
and  in  1867  returned  with  his  father  and  mother  and 
two  of  his  sisters  and  his  brother  to  Urumia.  On 
returning  he  broke  up  the  store  which  he  had  con- 
ducted, called  the  "  Diamond  Store,"  and  writes  in 
December,  1868,  to  an  older  sister  in  America  that 
he  "  had  hens  instead."  At  the  time  of  writing  this 
letter  he  was  setting  out  on  a  village  trip  with  his 
father,  and  he  says :  "  I  try  very  hard  to  do  what  is 
right  in  everything,"  and  "  every  "  is  underscored  once 
and  "  very  "  four  times. 

The  great  event  of  the  year  in  those  early  days  of 
missionary  life  in  such  a  remote  field  as  Persia  was 
the  annual  arrival  of  the  boxes  from  home.  The  Eev. 
W.  K.  Stocking  of  Williamstown,  Mass.,  who  was  a 
boy  in  Urumia  a  few  years  before  Dr.  Cochran's  boy- 
hood, writes; 


42       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

Aside  from  annual  gatherings  of  the  Mission  circle,  at 
Thanksgiving  and  Fourth  of  July,  the  event  which  furnished 
us  children  the  greatest  pleasure  was  the  arrival  once  a  year 
of  boxes  from  America.  How  we  would  rush  to  the  windows, 
or  down  into  the  courtyard  when  we  got  the  word,  "  the  boxes 
have  come,"  to  see  the  pack-horses,  following  one  another 
through  the  big  gate  from  the  street,  each  carrying  two 
boxes,  covered  with  waterproof  cloth,  slung  with  ropes  on 
either  side  of  the  big  pack-saddle,  having  come  in  that 
fashion  all  the  more  than  six  hundred  miles  from  Trebizond 
on  the  Black  Sea.  We  could  hardly  wait  to  have  the  water- 
proof covering  removed,  and  the  boxes  brought  into  the 
house.  Then  the  entire  family,  including  the  native  domes- 
tics, would  gather  about  to  see  the  packages  taken  out,  one 
by  one.  Many  of  the  articles  were  those  that  had  been 
ordered,  but  there  were  also  surprises  from  some  of  the  loved 
friends  and  kindred.  My !  how  our  eyes  danced  at  the  new 
clothing,  or  books,  or  toys.  I  can  even  now  remember  the 
peculiar  odour  of  the  new  things  from  America.  America! 
Why,  to  us  children  born  in  those  eastern  lands,  whose  idea 
of  America  was  that  embodied  in  the  new  missionaries  with 
their  new  styles  of  clothing  and  bright  pictures  and  books, 
and  some  new  articles  of  furniture,  America  was  a  veritable 
heaven,  containing  everything  beautiful,  and  good,  and  pure. 

One  of  the  earliest  of  Dr.  Gochran's  letters  which  has 
been  preserved  is  to  Mrs.  Henry  H.  Hale,  of  Buffalo,  and 
tells  of  the  children's  joy  in  the  annual  box : — 

MT.  SEIR,  URUMIA,  April  5th,  1870. 

DEAR  MRS.  HALE, — We  received  your  box  last  month,  but 
as  papa  was  in  a  village,  we  had  to  wait  till  he  came  back. 
He  came  about  noon  next  day,  and  we  went  right  to  work 
opening  it;  we  were  opening  it  all  the  afternoon,  and  towards 
night  we  called  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  Mission  to 
see  all  our  things. 

Emma  sat  down  on  the  rocking  chair  with  the  little  shawl 
on  her,  which  Mrs.  Bristol  sent  her,  with  the  doll  in  her 
arms,  and  reading  a  book  from  her  little  library,  which  you 
sent  her.  She  lends  her  books,  one  by  one,  to  the  little 


BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION  43 

children  of  the  Mission.  She  wants  me  to  thank  you  very 
much  for  the  beautiful  little  library.  And  I  thank  you  very 
much  for  the  nailbrush  you  sent  me. 

Eddie,  Mr.  Coan's  little  son,  who  is  about  my  age,  is 
going  home  next  June  with  the  Shedd  family.  I  will  feel 
quite  lonesome,  as  he  is  the  only  one  about  my  age  here. 
As  we  hear  so  bad  news  from  Mary,  papa  would  be  glad 
to  go  right  to  her,  and  I  would  like  to  get  into  a  school 
there,  but  as  so  many  are  leaving,  or  about  to  leave,  papa 
thinks  it  would  be  wrong  to  go  now,  and  leave  the  work  here. 
Good-bye.  Your  affectionate  friend,  JOSIE. 

Joe's  pleasures  were  not  numerous,  but  the  life  was 
wholesome  and  noble,  and  the  boy  learned  self-control, 
dignity,  and  courage.  He  knew  how  to  handle  horses 
and  to  meet  men.  And  in  the  Urumia  Mission  he  was 
taught  to  carry  himself  with  self-respect  and  the  re- 
spect of  his  fellows,  young  and  old.  He  knew  what 
danger  and  peril  were,  and  he  saw  men  and  women 
daily  exalting  duty  and  the  fear  of  God  above  self- 
interest  and  the  fear  of  men.  He  saw  no  other  ideal 
of  life  in  the  mission  circle,  and  dreamed  of  none  other 
for  himself  than  a  life  of  simple,  self-sacrificing,  joy- 
ful obedience  to  the  will  of  God.  There  were  many 
hardships  but  there  was  no  murmuring,  and  the  school 
of  character  in  the  Urumia  station  was  as  good  a 
school  as  could  be  found  anywhere. 

In  1870  the  hardest  of  all  the  hardships  of  missionary 
life  fell  upon  the  Cochran  household.  The  wife  and 
younger  children  came  home  to  be  with  the  older 
children  in  America.  As  Joseph  wrote,  his  father 
thought  that  it  would  be  wrong  for  him  to  leave  with 
them.  So  he  remained.  "  The  house  is  fearfully  lone- 
some," wrote  the  father  in  July,  1870.  "  All  our  rooms 
wear  a  desolate  look,  but  they  remind  me  of  dear 
absent  ones,  and  I  love  to  be  here.  My  bedroom  is 


44  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

the  most  attractive.  On  the  wall  opposite  the  bed  are 
the  pictures  of  all  our  family.  As  I  wake  in  the  morn- 
ing, I  fancy  I  greet  their  smiles  and  benedictions,  and 
I  love  to  pray  for  each  by  name."  The  results  of  the 
separation  have  already  been  told. 

On  returning  to  America  this  second  time  and  again 
taking  up  his  home  in  Buffalo,  Joseph  united  by  letter 
from  the  Mission  church  in  Urumia  with  the  West- 
minster Church  of  Buffalo,  and  continued  his  mem- 
bership there  until  in  later  years  he  took  a  letter  of 
dismissal  to  the  Mission  church  in  Urumia. 

When  Mrs.  Cochran  returned  to  Persia  in  1871,  she 
left  Joseph  behind  for  his  education,  and  it  was  his 
good  fortune  to  be  taken  into  the  home  of  Mr.  S.  M. 
Clement,  Sr.,  where  he  was  regarded  and  treated  as  a 
son  and  grew  up  as  a  brother  with  Mr.  S.  M.  Clement, 
Jr.,  now  president  of  the  Marine  National  Bank  of 
Buffalo,  who  was  Dr.  Cochran's  nearest  and  dearest 
friend.  Mr.  Clement,  Sr.,  was  one  of  the  elders  of  the 
Westminster  Church,  a  quiet  man,  reticent  and  un- 
assuming, of  absolute  probity  and  honour.  Upon  Mr. 
Cochran's  death  Mr.  Clement  renewed  his  offer  to  care 
for  the  son,  and  continued  to  deal  with  him  as  though 
he  were  his  own  son  throughout  the  seven  years  of  his 
preparation  for  his  missionary  work.  Mrs.  Clement 
also  was  as  a  mother  to  him.  When  Mrs.  Cochran 
returned  to  Persia  she  took  the  lad  to  her  heart,  and 
was  to  him  ever,  as  much  as  might  be,  as  his  own 
mother.  While  Mrs.  Cochran  was  still  in  America 
Joseph  had  begun  his  studies  in  the  Buffalo  Central 
High  School.  He  had  started  in  within  a  week  after 
reaching  Buffalo,  and  wrote  in  November,  1870,  to  his 
father,  giving  an  account  of  his  work,  and  describing 
to  him  the  Regents'  examination  system  and  the  state- 


BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION  45 

ment  required  at  the  end  of  each  paper :  "  I  conscien- 
tiously declare  that  I  had  no  information  of  these 
lessons  by  any  one,"  etc.  Any  trust  in  honour  always 
appealed  to  his  upright  soul.  He  closed  his  letter, 
"  Give  my  love  to  all  the  natives  and  the  Mission  and 
to  the  dear  old  horses  and  Dash.  I  hope  you  will  keep 
all  these  a  long  time  yet."  He  spent  four  years  in  the 
High  School.  And  a  classmate  writes: — 


In  the  four  years  of  our  school  life  together,  I  never  knew 
a  word  of  unkind  criticism  either  of  him  or  from  him. 
Perhaps  the  one  explains  the  other.  The  slight  foreign 
accent  and  tinge  of  eastern  "manner"  of  courtesy  distin- 
guished him  from  others,  but  never  unpleasantly.  While 
one  would  not  have  called  him  brilliant  as  a  student,  he  was 
always  thorough,  lessons  well  prepared,  no  duty  shirked. 
His  unusual  experiences  often  made  him  see  things  in  a 
different  light  from  his  fellow-students,  and  with  his  keen 
sense  of  humour,  he  added  interest  and  life  to  recitations. 
I  am  sure  all  his  teachers  liked  him.  With  our  dear  old 
Miss  Eipley,  he  was  a  prime  favourite.  She  explained  to 
him  one  day  in  her  whimsical  way,  that  she  "  liked  him 
because  his  shoes  were  always  so  well  blacked."  And  she 
was  so  amused  when  he  returned  from  some  mission  she 
had  sent  him  on,  to  receive  the  penny  she  had  promised  as 
reward.  In  the  sciences  he  was  particularly  good,  and 
Professor  Linden  took  pleasure  in  his  evident,  interest  in 
this  work.  Physiology  was  naturally  a  favourite  study,  and 
our  old  "  French  lady  "  (the  skeleton)  and  the  little  papier- 
mache  mannikin  were  factors  in  the  beginning  of  our  young 
physician's  education. 

Being  a  "  good  "  boy,  Joseph  was  made  monitor,  and  his 
desk  was  in  the  hall  outside  Mr.  Spencer's  office,  where  he  was 
not  under  supervision,  and  the  ringing  of  the  bells  for  reci- 
tations was  his  care. 

Always  fond  of  fun,  at  the  proper  times,  he  was  a  welcome 
member  of  our  picnic  parties  "  down  the  river,"  and  in  the 
many  social  gatherings  among  the  young  people.  To  me 
his  most  striking  characteristic  was  loyalty,  not  only  to 


46       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

friends,  but  to  principle,  above  all  his  own  high  sense  of 
honour. 

When  he  had  completed  the  High  School  course,  he 
was  nineteen,  and  under  the  pressure  of  various  cir- 
cumstances and  the  need  in  Urumia,  he  decided  to  go 
on  as  quickly  as  possible  to  a  medical  course.  He  had 
always  been  fond  of  medicine.  It  had  been  his  favour- 
ite amusement  to  play  doctor,  and  for  years  the  idea 
of  studying  medicine  and  of  returning  to  Persia  as  a 
medical  missionary  had  been  growing  in  him.  His 
mother  wrote  to  a  daughter  from  Urumia  in  1868,  when 
he  was  thirteen,  "  Dr.  Van  Norden  had  your  brother 
Josie  present  to  assist  him  a  little  in  an  operation  he 
performed  on  a  native.  Doctor  thinks  Josie  a  good 
candidate  for  physician  and  surgeon,  and  Josie  often 
expresses  the  hope  that  he  may  in  time  return  to  this 
country  in  that  capacity."  And  when  his  father  died 
in  1871,  nothing  was  more  natural  in  his  view  or  in 
the  view  of  all  who  knew  him  than  that  he  should 
prepare  to  take  his  place.  This  had  been  his  father's 
desire.  After  his  death  an  unfinished  letter  to  a  friend 
in  Buffalo  was  found,  in  the  last  sentence  of  which 
Mr.  Cochran  expressed  the  wish  that  his  son  should 
"  ever  be  brought  under  all  the  missionary  influence 
possible,"  and  stated  that  he  hoped  and  prayed  that 
he  might  yet  see  Joseph  on  missionary  ground.  He 
saw  it,  but  from  above.  After  the  father's  death  also 
the  native  preachers  of  the  Baranduz  district,  so  called 
from  the  river  which  waters  this  section  of  the  plain 
of  Urumia,  wrote  to  Joseph  in  Buffalo : — 

URUMIA,  February  20th,  1872. 

OUR  DEAR  BROTHER, — Thou  hast  certainly  not  been  for- 
gotten at  all  by  us,  although  we  have  not  visited  you  by 
the  sending  of  our  letters.  But,  still  you  are  placed  before 


BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION  47 

our  mind's  eye  as  it  were,  and  also,  we  ask  ever  and  receive 
answer  about  your  health  and  work. 

But  since  the  death  of  your  dear  father,  you  even  more, 
as  one  would  say,  have  been  quite  in  our  hearts.  That 
dear  and  pleasant  father  was  beloved  of  us  all.  As  we  dwell 
on  the  thought  that  he  has  been  torn  from  us,  our  tears 
mingle  with  the  tears  of  your  eyes. 

And  now,  our  beloved,  know  that  our  eyes  are  on  you, 
our  wishes  and  our  hopes  are  to  hear  that  you  have  the  desire 
to  prepare  yourself  to  fill  your  father's  place  here.  And 
our  prayer  to  God  is  that  the  mantle  of  your  father  should 
fall  on  your  shoulders,  and  turn,  if  it  be  His  will,  every 
obstacle  from  your  path,  and  prepare  you  for  the  work 
unfinished  that  is  left  after  the  labours  of  your  father  in 
the  soil  of  Persia. 

Jesus,  with  His  hand  so  soft,  wipe  every  tear  from  your 
eyes,  and  comfort  you  in  the  midst  of  all  your  heavy  sorrow 
and  anguish  so  heartrending. 

From  your  brothers,  the  preachers  of  the  Baranduz  river. 
And  peace  very  great,  and  Godlike,  I  am  pouring  upon  you, 
I,  Priest  Hormizd  of  Aliawa,  the  composer  of  this  letter. 

Reach  for  Joseph  to  America. 

Joseph  demanded  no  miraculous  revelation  of  duty. 
He  was  not  waiting  for  a  "  missionary  call,"  mean- 
while intending  to  use  his  life  selfishly.  He  was  quietly 
going  forward,  as  the  character  he  had  inherited, 
strengthened  under  the  influence  of  his  home  and  boy- 
hood, impelled  him,  in  the  path  of  self-sacrifice,  use- 
fulness, and  courageous  service.  To  some  men  the 
heroic  life  is  a  matter  of  course,  to  be  followed  if 
allowed.  To  others  it  is  a  painful  cross  not  to  be  taken 
up  if  it  can  be  avoided.  All  his  life  Dr.  Cochran  did 
the  hard  and  heroic  thing,  sometimes  the  life-imperil- 
ling thing,  without  ostentation  or  parade,  with  no  con- 
sciousness that  he  was  doing  anything  out  of  the 
ordinary.  He  simply  saw  duty  clearly,  and  did  it 
quietly. 


48  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

In  the  fall  of  1874,  he  went  to  Yale  as  a  special 
student,  taking  both  scientific  and  medical  courses, 
but  the  urgent  call  from  Urumia  seemed  to  make  it 
necessary  for  him  to  omit  everything  but  the  necessary 
medical  training.  On  October  25th  he  writes  to  his 
mother : — 

It  is  some  time  since  I  last  wrote  you,  yet  I  have  you 
in  my  thoughts  and  prayers  daily. 

I  am  very  busy  indeed,  giving  all  my  time  to  medicine. 
We  have  good  opportunities  here,  there  being  the  State 
Hospital  and  Dispensary  here.  I  presume  I  have  seen 
seventy  or  eighty  surgical  operations  here  so  soon.  I  enjoy 
very  much  being  here  with  so  many  students — 1,031.  Wed- 
nesday and  Saturday  mornings  we  have  no  recitations,  and 
usually  go  out  to  the  park  for  some  games.  Then  we  come 
home  in  a  body,  singing  and  carrying  on  generally.  We  have 
class  prayer  meeting,  too,  Sunday  and  Tuesday  evenings, 
which  are  well  attended  and  interesting.  Then  of  course 
there  is  the  regular  hazing  going  on.  I  being  a  Medic  and 
special  scientific  have  not  the  fate  of  a  common  Freshman! 
Still  the  hazing,  though  unpleasant,  is  not  serious.  I  pre- 
sume before  this  reaches  you  the  Seir  winter  will  be  upon 
you.  Some  January  evening,  when  you  and  Emma  are  sit- 
ting around  the  table  in  the  old  dining-room  near  to  the 
large  stove,  you  may  hear  a  knock  at  the  gate,  and  find 
that  it  is  Mashadie  with  the  mail.  In  this  mail  you  will 
find  this  letter  and  one  for  "your  youngest."  If  it  is  not 
interesting,  it  is  full  of  love,  and  the  writer  wishes  most 
sincerely  that  he  could  be  the  knocker  at  the  gate.  I  sup- 
pose you  will  not  be  alone  at  Seir  this  winter. 

The  second  year  of  the  course  he  took  in  the  Buffalo 
Medical  College,  and  the  last  year  with  his  degree  he 
took  at  the  Bellevue  Medical  College  in  New  York 
City.  After  the  last  examination  he  wrote  to  his 
closest  friend,  Mr.  Clement's  son: — 

I  am  safely  through  all  my  examinations,  and  feel  pretty 
jolly  over  it.  Last  night  I  had  my  last  Chemistry.  Minges, 


BOYHOOD  AND  EDUCATION  49 

one  of  the  "Dubuque  Twins,"  who  was  in  Buffalo  College 
last  year,  went  in  to  Prof.  Doremus'  slaughter  house,  as 
he  calls  it,  with  me.  This  twin  was  in  the  same  fix  I  was 
in,  and  we  two  have  happened  together  in  Anatomy  and 
Chemistry,  where  two  go  in  together. 

Last  night,  as  a  topping  off  of  my  lucky  career,  Prof. 
Doremus  gave  us  quite  a  puff.  He  said  that  he  did  not 
know  that  he  cared  to  ask  us  any  more  questions  (after  he 
had  examined  us  a  while),  for  we  seemed  perfectly  familiar 
with  the  theme.  He  said  it  gave  him  great  pleasure  to 
examine  us,  which  was  more  than  he  could  say  of  the  ex- 
aminations in  Chemistry  of  most  medical  students. 

I,  however,  made  one  mistake  in  my  four  examinations, 
and  that  was  in  Materia  Medica.  Prof.  Polk  wanted  to 
know  the  dose  of  Majendie's  Solution.  I  told  him;  then 
he  wanted  the  strength.  I  answered,  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
out  I  saw  I  was  wrong,  and  said  so.  He  laughed,  and  said, 
"  Guess  again." 

Well,  this  rather  confused  me,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  could 
not  remember  anything  about  it,  so  I  said,  "Professor,  I 
can't  think  of  the  strength,  but  I  know  the  dose,  so  I  can 
calculate  how  much  opium  there  is  to  the  ounce,  if  you 
will  give  me  time."  He  said,  "  Yes,  you  could  do  this  at 
the  bedside  if  you  forgot  it.  I  won't  call  it  a  mistake, 
doctor;  that  will  do." 

Excuse  this  splurge  of  self-conceit,  but  I  feel  rather 
elated,  so  some  must  go  out  else  I  burst. 

I  feel  fully  repaid  for  this  steady,  hard  studying. 

When  he  had  his  degree  in  the  spring  of  1877,  he 
went  back  to  Buffalo  and  stayed  until  October,  study- 
ing with  Dr.  Miner,  and  working  in  his  office  and  in 
the  hospitals.  He  studied  pharmacy  also,  and  later 
dentistry,  in  order  to  be  able  to  help  missionaries  and 
others  in  as  many  ways  as  possible.  He  did  special 
work,  too,  on  the  eye,  and  spent  a  year  in  the  Kings 
County  Hospital  as  house  physician.  He  had  no 
money  to  waste.  He  says  in  one  letter,  "  When  you 
asked  for  papers  giving  accounts  of  the  (Downs)  case, 


50  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

I  had  no  money  to  buy  them."  He  had  walked  from 
his  lodgings  to  and  from  the  Medical  College  while 
studying  there,  having  worked  out  on  a  city  map 
the  shortest  route,  three  miles  each  way.  He  kept 
up  his  attendance  at  church,  and  was  a  member  of 
a  Bible  class,  and  in  his  hospital  work  he  had 
all  that  he  could  attend  to,  especially  with  crazy 
patients;  but  all  his  preparations  were  made  by  the 
summer  of  1878,  and  on  June  10th,  1878,  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  missionary  to  Persia  by  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  the  American  Board  having  trans- 
ferred the  Mission  to  the  Nestorians  to  the  Presbyterian 
Board  at  the  time  of  reunion  of  the  Old  and  New 
School  Presbyterian  Churches  in  1871. 

He  did  not  go  out  alone.  On  August  21st,  1878, 
he  was  married  to  Miss  Katharine  Hale  of  Minneapolis, 
whom  he  met  first  in  the  summer  of  1876,  just  after 
her  graduation  from  Vassar,  while  she  was  visiting 
her  uncle  in  Buffalo.  After  the  wedding  he  remarked 
quietly  to  one  of  her  sisters,  "  I  thank  you  very  much 
for  not  opposing  her  going  with  me.  For  if  she  could 
not  have  gone,  I  should  have  had  to  go  alone."  They 
sailed  from  New  York  on  September  19th,  1878,  on  the 
"  Parthia,"  for  Liverpool. 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA 

DR.  AND  MRS.  COCHRAN  spent  a  week  or  more 
in  England,  visiting  Chester,  Stratford,  and  Ox- 
ford on  their  way  from  Liverpool  to  London. 
From  England  they  went  via  Rotterdam  and  Cologne 
to  Berlin,  where  they  stayed  several  days.  They  had 
hoped  to  have  plenty  of  time  in  Cologne  to  see  the 
Cathedral,  but  did  not  arrive  till  ten  in  the  evening, 
and  their  train  left  at  seven  the  next  morning.  But 
see  the  Cathedral  they  would,  so  they  rose  at  five,  and 
had  a  view  never  to  be  forgotten  of  the  glorious  in- 
terior in  the  dimness  of  dawn  as  it  heightened  to  the 
first  rays  of  sunlight.  After  several  days  at  Dresden, 
they  went  on  to  Odessa.  From  Odessa  they  sailed  to 
Poti  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Black  Sea,  having  the 
pleasant  experience  of  a  calm  voyage,  and  then  from 
Poti  went  up  to  Tiflis  by  the  railroad  which  then  ended 
at  Tiflis,  and  there  spent  a  few  days  in  getting  equip- 
ment for  the  journey,  lodging  with  a  Nestorian  mer- 
chant, one  of  the  prosperous  members  of  the  increasing 
colony  of  successful  Nestorian  business  men  and  la- 
bourers in  Tiflis. 

They  left  Tiflis  November  3rd  for  Urumia,  going  by 
way  of  Tabriz,  and  reaching  Urumia  City  on  December 
2nd.  The  journey  was  full  of  interest  to  them  both. 
Its  hardships  were  a  little  more  novel  to  Mrs.  Cochran 
than  to  her  husband  who  had  spent  his  boyhood  in  just 

51 


52       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

such  villages  as  those  through  which  their  road  passed. 
But  they  both  saw  the  humorous  side  of  all  situations, 
or  if  there  was  no  humorous  side,  they  bore  with  light- 
hearted  Christian  stoicism  what  had  to  be  endured. 
The  insects  of  Asia  of  course  awaited  them  at  each 
Russian  post  house.  "  It  is  disgusting,"  wrote  Mrs. 
Cochran,  in  her  home  letters,  "  but  we  reflected  that  it 
could  not  be  helped  and  resolved  with  Epictetus  not 
to  allow  such  low  animals  to  disturb  the  equanimity 
of  our  souls  by  tormenting  our  bodies.  I  put  the 
cologne  bottle  under  my  pillow;  Joseph  perfumed  his 
with  kerosene,  and  we  slept  as  peacefully  as  babies." 
To  Erivan  they  travelled  on  the  Russian  post  road 
with  the  post  horses: — 

RUSSIAN  POST  ROAD,  November  3rd,  1878. — Here  we  are 
spending  the  Sabbath  at  this  little  Post  station.  It  was 
nearly  five  when  we  left  Tiflis.  People  stared  as  we  drove 
through  the  streets  with  our  horses  four  abreast.  Our 
driver  was  a  fiery  little  Russian  who  wanted  to  whip  every 
man,  woman,  child,  or  beast  who  interfered  with  our  progress. 
I  never  had  even  imagined  streets  so  utterly  wretched  and 
filthy  as  those  through  which  we  passed.  Loaded  donkeys 
would  block  our  way,  and  the  driver  laid  his  whip  on  them 
to  right  and  left.  So  we  rattled  along,  Lazar  blowing  his 
whistle,  and  the  driver  yelling  until  we  met  a  whole  caravan 
of  camels.  One  of  the  camels  was  kneeling  to  be  loaded. 
It  did  not  suit  our  Russian  to  wait  for  that  process,  so 
after  a  yell  at  its  driver,  he  jumped  down,  and  flew  at  the 
man  with  doubled  fists.  The  camel  got  up,  and  we  passed 
on.  Whenever  there  was  a  chance,  this  maniac  gave  a  crack 
of  his  whip  on  some  one. 

I  wish  you  could  see  Lazar  as  he  has  arrayed  himself  for 
the  journey.  The  tops  of  bis  boots  are  turned  down  nearly 
to  his  ankles,  showing  the  red  linings.  His  trousers  are 
grey,  partly  of  leather  for  riding,  the  ends  of  them  tied 
down  just  below  the  knees  with  some  white  rags.  He  has 
several  shirts,  as  I  call  them  (Persian  coats,  Joe  says  they 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA  53 

are),  hanging  below  his  black  vest,  which  cause  his  coat 
of  European  cut  to  stand  out  as  if  he  had  a  short  hoop 
skirt.  He  wears  a  sword,  which  he  uses  for  cutting  our 
sugar.  I  think  it  is  too  dull  to  injure  a  Kurd.  Then  his 
red  hair  and  his  red  and  yellow  turban  crown  all.  He  is 
not  over  neat,  but  he  does  very  well,  makes  good  tea,  and 
I  let  him  manage  the  culinary  department  pretty  much,  as 
it  is  too  much  trouble  to  make  him  do  my  way. 

It  is  perfectly  appalling  in  going  through  this  country  to 
realize  how  dark  are  still  most  portions  of  our  globe!  I  can 
hardly  realize  that  the  people  here  have  souls,  they  seem  so 
nearly  like  animals. 

From  Julfa,  on  the  Persian  frontier,  they  rode  on 
horseback  to  Tabriz.  From  Tabriz  Mrs.  Cochran  trav- 
elled to  Urumia  in  a  takhtirawan,  a  box  on  poles  car- 
ried between  two  mules. 

Of  all  the  methods  of  travel  I  have  tried  in  the  course 
of  my  existence  that  in  a  takhtirawan  is  a  trifle  the  most 
insecure.  But  it  is  stylish,  no  doubt.  I  am  considered  a 
person  of  considerable  importance  by  all  whom  we  meet, 
for  only  great  people  travel  in  this  way. 

I  have  a  white  mule  in  front  and  a  black  mule  behind.  A 
mounted  chavadar  leads  the  procession,  and  another  follows 
on  foot  to  keep  the  back  mule  in  motion  by  continual  beat- 
ings and  yellings.  I'm  sorry  for  that  back  mule!  Poor 
beast,  he  has  to  walk  by  faith  and  not  by  sight.  All  he  can 
see  in  front  is  blank  boards,  and  when  he  comes  to  a  muddy 
ditch  his  imagination  leads  him  to  think  it  is  an  endless 
sea  of  mire,  and  I  don't  blame  him  for  now  and  then 
refusing  to  set  his  foot  in  it,  though  it  does  make  it  rather 
unpleasant  for  the  other  mule  and  me." 

At  Gavelan,  a  village  a  day's  journey  from  Urumia, 
at  the  northern  entrance  to  the  Urumia  plain,  Dr. 
Cochran's  mother  and  sister  Emma  met  them.  The 
native  pastor  there  had  vowed  a  vow  that  Joseph  should 
eat  his  first  meal  in  his  house,  and  the  vow  was  fulfilled. 


54       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

After  a  quiet  Sunday  in  Gavelan,  the  party  went  on  to 
Urumia,  where  they  were  welcomed  home  before  reach- 
ing the  city  by  native  pastors  and  preachers  and  mis- 
sionaries who  had  ridden  out  to  meet  them,  and  when 
they  reached  the  city,  by  the  pupils  of  the  boys'  and 
girls'  schools  and  throngs  of  Nestorians.  The  people 
greeted  him  as  a  son  returning  home,  bringing  him 
presents  of  all  kinds.  Nearly  all  the  pastors  had  been 
taught  by  his  father.  They  had  known  him  as  a  boy, 
and  followed  his  studies  in  America  with  the  deepest 
interest,  and  now  they  welcomed  him  back  with  eager- 
ness as  one  who  belonged  to  them  and  to  whom  they 
belonged. 

His  work  began  at  once.  At  Gavelan  the  sick 
thronged  him  on  Sunday,  neighbouring  villagers  carry- 
ing their  paralytics  on  donkeys  as  if  a  word  of  his 
would  heal,  and  the  day  after  his  arrival  at  Urumia 
he  began  his  medical  practice  with  the  patients  who 
had  been  already  brought  from  far  and  near  to  await 
his  coming.  His  sister  wrote  a  fortnight  after  his 
arrival,  "  Poor  Joe  does  not  have  time  to  breathe  in  the 
city.  His  dispensary  is  thronged.  It  seems  as  if  all 
Urumia  had  become  sick  just  as  he  came." 

He  knew,  the  Syriac,  the  language  of  the  Nestorians, 
and  the  Turkish,  the  language  of  the  Mohammedans, 
as  well  as  the  native  scholars  knew  them  and  was  able 
at  once  to  resume  intercourse  with  the  people  after  his 
ten  years'  absence.  Within  a  month  of  his  arrival, 
his  mother  wrote : — 

Joe  has  retained  his  knowledge  of  Syriac  and  Turkish, 
so  he  needs  only  to  study  the  Persian,  the  Court  language. 
It  seems  "easy  for  his  tongue  to  lie  down"  to  all  of  these 
languages,  the  natives  say;  and  they  claim  he  speaks  more 
correctly  and  more  naturally  than  we  of  the  first  generation 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA  55 

of  missionaries.  And  although  his  return  is  that  of  a  mis- 
sionary's child,  there  is  such  a  quiet  dignity  about  him  that 
it  seems  all  right,  as  if  it  were  a  thing  which  had  always 
been,  that  he  preside  in  Mission  Meeting  and  discuss  the 
questions  that  arise.  All  the  Mission  respect  him,  and  the 
children  enjoy  both  Joe  and  Kate. 

Yesterday  some  Kurdish  chiefs  and  their  escorts  were  at 
our  house  to  consult  Joe.  One  had  been  here  last  week 
with  his  sick  son,  and  yesterday  he  returned  filled  with  joy, 
and  expressing  heartfelt  thanks  for  his  son's  recovery.  He 
remarked,  "  Now  I  shall  not  throw  my  hand  from  off  you," 
and  wanted  Joe  to  visit  him  in  his  castle.  He  said,  "  The 
doctor  can  walk  in  safety  in  Kurdistan."  No  one  can  do 
this  unless  under  the  protection  of  this  powerful  chief. 

The  young  doctor,  not  yet  twenty-five  years  old, 
stepped  at  once  into  such  intimate  and  influential 
relations  as  these  with  the  most  powerful  men  of  the 
land.  His  charm  of  character,  his  dignity,  his  tact, 
and  friendliness  established  him  in  the  admiration  and 
confidence  of  the  people  of  all  classes.  In  a  home  let- 
ter, after  referring  to  their  determination  to  live  within 
their  modest  missionary  income,  his  young  wife  wrote : 

Joe  is  not  extravagant  in  his  wants.  He  does  like  a  good 
horse,  though,  and  is  very  particular  about  the  way  they  are 
kept.  I  really  think  it  is  remarkable  with  what  dignity  Joe 
conducts  himself  here.  People  knew  him  as  a  boy;  Pera 
carried  him  when  a  baby,  but  never  does  he  or  any  one  else 
treat  him  with  the  slightest  disrespect.  He  is  such  a  proper 
youth,  Joe  is.  I  have  to  laugh  at  him  sometimes,  while  I 
secretly  admire  him  for  it.  I  know  I  worry  him  sometimes 
with  my  democratic  ways,  but  it  is  very  trying  at  times  to 
conform  to  the  code  of  etiquette  of  this  country. 

He  was  extremely  careful  himself  from  the  outset 
to  conform  to  all  the  proper  social  ideas  of  the  people. 
He  was  recognized  accordingly  as  a  Persian  gentleman, 
and  he  had  access  as  a  welcome  visitor  to  the  highest 


56  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

homes,  while  he  came,  in  time,  to  be  almost  idolized 
by  the  poor,  to  whom  he  was  as  courteous  and  attentive 
as  to  the  Governor  or  the  Crown  Prince. 

The  trust  immediately  reposed  in  him  by  the  great 
men  of  the  community  was  something  of  an  embarrass- 
ment and  complicated  his  plans.  His  mother  and  sis- 
ter had  prepared  a  home  for  him  and  his  wife  with  them 
at  Seir,  and  to  this  house  they  went,  but  it  seemed 
probable  for  a  time  that  they  would  have  to  move  down 
to  the  city  to  care  for  a  needy  case  among  the  nobles 
of  the  province.  Mrs.  Cochran  wrote,  December  18th, 
1878:— 

We  are  as  undecided  as  ever  where  to  locate  this  winter. 

It  seems  that  Khan,  the  biggest  man  in  this  region, 

has  always  been  very  kind  to  the  missionaries,  granting 
prompt  redress  for  injuries,  inviting  them  to  his  house,  and 
in  many  ways  showing  great  favour.  But  he  is  a  very 
wicked  man,  has  led  a  wicked  life,  has  no  control  over  his 
passions,  and  drinks  to  excess.  His  hard  drinking  has 
greatly  affected  his  health  and  made  him  half  insane.  He 
sent  for  Joe  to  come  and  see  him  soon  after  our  arrival. 
He  feels  dreadfully  over  his  insane  condition,  and  wants 
Joe  to  cure  him.  The  other  day  we  were  somewhat  startled 
by  a  message  from  him  pleading  that  Joe  would  take  him 
up  to  Seir,  promising  to  put  himself  entirely  under  his 
control,  and  obey  all  orders  (he  knows  that  he  will  be  for- 
bidden strong  drink).  He  says  he  will  bring  only  two 
servants,  his  wife,  and  a  maid.  It  is  a  question  what  to 
do  with  him.  Joe  thinks  he  can  make  him  much  better 
at  any  rate  by  keeping  drink  from  him,  even  if  he  cannot 
cure  him.  It  is  a  great  thing  for  a  rich  Mohammedan  of 
high  rank  actually  to  plead  to  put  himself  in  the  hands  of 
Christians.  If  he  could  be  cured,  if  he  could  be  made  a  better 
man,  think  what  an  opening  for  the  Mohammedan  work 
here.  It  is  a  very,  very  puzzling  question. 

It  is  quite  a  show  for  these  people  to  see  me  and  my 
mother-in-law  together.  According  to  their  customs,  when 
the  son  brings  home  a  bride,  her  mouth  is  covered,  and  she 


BEGINNING  WOEK  IN  PERSIA  57 

must  not  speak  to  her  mother-in-law  for  years.  She  can 
speak  to  her  husband's  young  brothers  and  sisters,  and  all 
communication  with  her  mother-in-law  must  be  through 
them.  The  day  we  arrived,  Mrs.  Oldfather  said  her  servant 
came  rushing  up  to  her,  and  said,  "  The  doctor's  wife  is 
talking  with  her  mother-in-law ! "  You  see,  I  am  the  first 
instance  of  anything  of  the  kind. 

FEBRUARY  1,  1879. — We  have  had  quite  exciting  times  of 

late.  About  a  week  ago,  Khan  sent  for  Joe  again, 

and  fairly  plead  with  him  to  undertake  his  case.  He  held 
his  hand,  and  cried,  and  begged  him  to  take  him  and  try 
him,  if  only  for  a  few  days.  This  Khan  has  been  so  kind 
to  the  Mission  that  it  seemed  as  though  this  despairing  cry 
could  hardly  be  refused. 

On  Monday,  Joe  met  the  Governor  of  the  city  and  several 

of  Khan's  friends.  He  told  them  that  he  did  not 

think  he  could  do  much  for  him,  but  would  try  if  they 
wished.  He  stipulated  that  the  Khan  and  his  servants 
should  be  placed  entirely  under  his  control,  and  power  be 
given  him  to  use  force  if  necessary.  He  said  he  wished  to 
take  the  Khan  to  his  summer  palace  with  only  four  servants 
and  soldiers  to  guard  the  gate.  It  seems  that  the  Khan  and 
his  friends  thought  they  would  not  be  safe  out  in  the  summer 
palace,  so  it  was  decided  to  remain  in  the  city.  They  gave 
Joe  a  room,  and  he  took  over  his  travelling  bedstead  and 
bedding.  He  caught  a  bad  cold,  as  the  room  has  windows 
across  one  whole  side  and  is  heated  only  with  a  fireplace. 

The  Khan  could  not  sleep,  and  had  him  up  and  down 
several  times  in  the  night.  Joe  has  three  Nestorians  there 
to  assist  him  and  take  turns  in  watching  the  Khan  to  see 
that  he  gets  no  drink  except  what  he  allows  him.  He  has 
been  accustomed  to  drink  about  two  or  three  quarts  of 
arrack  daily,  and  towards  night  he  began  to  call  for  it  again. 
Joe  went  over  after  tea  and  played  to  him  on  an  organ  that 
has  been  carried  over  from  the  Mission.  Joe  sang  some 
Moody  and  Sankey  songs,  and  the  Khan  joined  him.  About 
midnight  he  began  to  grow  very  wild,  got  up  and  dressed, 
and  went  running  about  the  yard,  howling  like  a  wild 
animal. 

Joe  tried  to  persuade  him  to  come  in,  but  he  would  not, 


68  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

and  told  the  servants  to  open  the  gates  or  he  would  kill 
them.  He  told  Joe  he  would  kill  him  if  he  did  not  let  him 
go.  At  last  he  got  out,  and  went  tearing  down  the  street, 
Joe  and  his  servants  after  him,  through  the  mud  and  dark- 
ness. The  servants  were  all  afraid  to  touch  him,  and  so 
were  the  Nestorians.  At  last  Joe  caught  him,  and  the 
bravest  of  the  servants  came  to  help  him,  and  they  got  him 
back  home.  Joe  could  not  manage  him  alone,  for  he  is 
a  very  powerful  man.  He  was  quiet  after  that,  being  rather 
exhausted  from  his  ravings.  Joe  had  concluded  that  there 
is  very  little  prospect  of  doing  him  any  good,  and  certainly 
will  not  consent  to  remain  there  unless  he  can  have  some 
one  to  help  him. 

In  the  end Khan  was  taken  to  Europe  for  treat- 
ment. Among  the  official  class  in  Persia  there  is  too 
little  regard  for  the  prohibition  of  the  Koran  against 
the  use  of  intoxicating  drink.  These  prohibitions  have 
been  of  great  benefit,  as  most  of  the  people  are  obedient 
at  least  in  this  regard  to  their  sacred  book.  But  where 
the  influence  of  Europe  is  felt,  as  among  the  higher 
classes,  and  in  some  places  among  the  common  people 
where  the  nominal  Christians  of  the  old  Oriental 
Churches  have  set  a  bad  example  and  fostered  the  trade 
in  wine  and  arrack,  there  has  been  a  wide  departure 
from  the  total  abstinence  enjoined  by  the  Koran. 

For  nearly  a  year  Dr.  Cochran  lived  at  Seir,  riding 
down  to  the  city  for  his  work.  Sometimes  when  de- 
tained late,  he  would  spend  the  night  in  the  city,  the 
road  to  Seir  having  its  perils  from  Kurds  and  wolves. 
The  Kurds  were  always  the  terror  of  the  country  and 
of  the  missionary  children.  One  of  the  Cochran  chil- 
dren when  five  years  old  had  just  repeated  to  her 
mother  one  of  the  verses  of  "  Hush,  my  dear,  lie  still 
and  slumber,"  when  her  mother  asked  her  what  "  brutal 
creatures  "  were.  The  little  one  replied,  "  People  who 
have  no  hearts,  like  the  Kurds."  No  one  came  closer 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA  59 

to  the  Kurds  than  Dr.  Cochran  or  acquired  so  great 
an  influence  over  them,  but  they  were  the  tragic  back- 
ground of  his  life  and  the  cause  of  its  early  ending. 

In  spite  of  the  disadvantage  of  distance,  however, 
he  vigorously  developed  his  work.  On  March  28th  his 
wife  wrote: — 

This  afternoon  I  attended  Mission  Meeting,  which  is  always 
held  in  Mr.  Labaree's  parlour  when  at  Seir.  This  afternoon 
each  of  the  gentlemen  made  the  quarterly  report  of  his  de- 
partment of  the  work.  Joe  reported  that  since  his  arrival 
in  Urumia,  four  months  ago  to-day,  he  had  seen  sixteen 
hundred  patients,  the  majority  of  them  Mussulmans.  He 
has  had  but  two  in  the  hospital,  there  not  being  accommoda- 
tions for  more.  He  has  collected  in  the  way  of  fees  about 
nine  tomans,  each  patient  being  charged  a  few  cents  for 
medicine.  His  five  medical  students  assist  him  in  some 
things.  For  instance,  they  helped  vaccinate  a  whole  room  full 
of  babies  brought  in  last  time.  Counting  them,  Joseph 
had  over  a  hundred  patients  yesterday. 

At  Seir,  in  July,  his  first  child,  a  son,  was  born. 
Seir  was  too  far  away  from  his  work,  however,  and 
in  the  fall  of  1879  he  moved  down  into  the  city,  where 
he  and  Mrs.  Cochran  kept  house,  and  where,  in  addi- 
tion to  his  medical  work,  he  had  charge  for  a  time  of 
the  High  School  and  the  Guest  Department.  "  The 
High  School,"  wrote  Mrs.  Cochran,  "  is  really  an  in- 
termediate department,  a  little  higher  than  the  village 
schools  and  not  as  high  as  the  Seminary.  Only  boys 
attend,  about  twenty-seven  in  all,  all  Nestorians.  They 
come  in  from  the  villages  on  Monday  and  return  on 
Friday,  bringing  with  them  most  of  the  food  on  which 
they  subsist.  By  the  Guest  Department  I  mean  this. 
When  the  different  helpers,  pastors,  and  others,  come 
to  the  city  on  Mission  business,  they  have  a  room  and 


60  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

food  provided  for  them  from  Mission  funds.  Our 
Mooshe  has  the  care  of  these  rooms  and  provides  the 
food,  bringing  in  the  bills  to  Joe."  This  Guest  De- 
partment was  an  enterprise  of  great  importance  and 
value  in  a  land  where  so  much  is  made  of  hospitality, 
and  where  kindness  or  coldness  toward  an  acquaint- 
ance or  a  stranger  may  gravely  affect  the  opportunities 
for  the  spread  of  Christianity. 

What  weighed  most  on  his  mind,  however,  was  the 
need  of  more  adequate  provision  for  the  treatment  of 
surgical  cases  and  cases  of  serious  illness  requiring 
careful  nursing.  He  had  in  the  city  only  a  small  dis- 
pensary with  two  beds,  but  no  good  bedding,  for  an 
in-patient  or  so,  and  he  realized  that  in  the  conditions 
under  which  his  work  must  be  done,  it  was  indispensa- 
ble that  he  should  be  able  to  treat  more.  He  did  his 
best  in  the  circumstances,  as  his  wife's  letters  show, 
but  he  felt  the  limitation : — 

JUNE  16th,  1880. — Baby  was  quite  sick  yesterday.  Joe 
came  up  last  night  to  see  him,  though  it  was  quite  difficult 
for  him  to  get  away.  He  has  just  performed  an  operation 
on  a  little  girl.  This  little  girl  fell  and  broke  her  foot  some 
time  ago.  A  native  doctor  set  it  so  badly  that  it  mortified, 
and  Joe  had  to  amputate  it,  just  below  the  knee.  If  she 
lives,  the  poor  little  thing  will  have  to  go  on  crutches,  an 
unusual  sight  in  this  country,  for  people  are  generally 
allowed  to  die  here  if  any  such  accident  happens  to  them. 

JULY  22nd,  1880. — Joe  was  perfectly  successful  in  that 
operation  on  that  little  girl.  It  was  an  operation  in  which 
over  one-third  of  the  patients  always  die.  She  is  perfectly 
well  again.  I  think  that  is  doing  pretty  well  for  a  young  man 
all  alone,  with  no  one  to  consult,  not  even  an  experienced 
person  to  administer  chloroform.  He  has  performed  several 
difficult  operations  here  and  been  perfectly  successful,  and  I 
presume  he  will  have  more  when  he  has  his  hospital. 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA  61 

In  the  summer  of  1879  accordingly  he  sent  home  to 
the  Board  the  following  appeal: — 

A  HOSPITAL  FOR  PERSIA 

Since  arriving  here  last  December  I  hare  seen  and  treated 
over  3,000  patients  in  the  dispensary  and  at  my  house. 
Persians,  Kurds,  Jews,  Nestorians,  and  Armenians — all  come 
together,  listen  to  the  religious  service,  and  receive  treatment. 
Some  come  a  distance  of  three  or  four  days'  journey,  a  few 
even  further.  There  is  no  skilled  physician  within  120  miles 
in  any  direction;  the  native  surgery  is  terribly  rough  or 
barbarous,  and  the  medical  practice  is  little  better.  A  Chris- 
tian physician  and  surgeon  has  a  vast  field  and  a  remarkable 
influence. 

But  here  arises  a  difficulty.  Many  cases  I  see  but  once. 
Many  do  not  follow  directions.  In  some  cases  powders  have 
been  given  to  be  taken,  one  daily.  The  patients,  instead, 
have  bolted  them  all  at  a  swallow,  saying  the  medicine 
might  as  well  cure  at  once  as  to  take  several  days.  One 
man  received  a  powder  for  an  eye  wash.  He  poured  the 
powder  all  into  his  eye  at  once,  and  came  back,  saying  it 
had  burned  out  his  eye.  Still  worse  are  the  surgical  cases. 
Knowing  it  to  be  folly  to  perform  an  operation,  and  then 
send  the  patient  home  for  after-treatment,  I  am  obliged 
to  decline  nearly  all  cases.  Sons  and  daughters  of  noble- 
men and  chiefs,  as  well  as  the  poor,  have  thus  been  turned 
away.  There  are  several  common  diseases  here  that  require 
a  surgical  operation,  and  with  this  the  greatest  subsequent 
care.  It  is  injustice  to  them  and  to  myself  and  to  the  cause 
of  Missions  to  treat  serious  cases  in  the  way  I  have  hitherto 
done. 

The  present  accommodations  consist  of  two  rooms  in  con- 
nection with  the  dispensary.  In  these  I  have  treated  and 
nursed  patients  on  whom  operations  have  been  performed. 
They  are  better  than  nothing,  but  are  open  to  very  great 
objections.  First,  the  accommodations  are  insufficient;  sec- 
ond, the  place  is  not  suitable  for  the  sick.  No  sunshine 
enters  the  rooms,  and  they  are  so  situated  that  the  necessary 
arrangements  for  sewerage  cannot  be  effected;  third,  it  is 
in  our  own  yard,  where  the  children  of  the  Mission  families 


62  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

ought  to  play.  If  the  patients  take  an  airing  it  must  be 
in  this  yard.  These  objections  it  is  impossible  to  remove 
without  a  new  place. 

A  proposal.  We  have  purchased  a  site  for  our  college, 
and  the  buildings  are  going  up.  The  plot  contains  fifteen 
acres  of  land,  part  orchard,  part  field,  with  five  acres  now 
enclosed  by  a  strong  wall.  It  is  over  a  mile  from  the  city 
gate  on  a  slope  facing  the  river,  and  in  full  view  of  the 
mountains.  Here  are  the  best  conditions  as  to  air,  water, 
and  retirement  for  a  good  school,  and  the  same  conditions 
for  a  hospital.  There  is  ample  room,  and  the  Mission 
Station  has  set  apart  the  necessary  ground.  The  idea  of 
a  hospital  has  greatly  pleased  all  classes,  and  probably  has 
saved  us  from  governmental  interference  thus  far.  If  we 
could  assure  all  inquirers  that  a  hospital  will  surely  be  built 
it  would  be  a  better  safeguard  than  a  firman  from  the  Shah. 
The  Prince  Governor  says  that  the  Mussulman  Khans  and 
merchants  ought  to  help  us  build  it.  In  favour  of  the  pro- 
posal are:  (1)  The  need  of  a  merciful  and  Christlike  pro- 
vision for  the  sick.  (2)  The  salutary  influence  upon  the 
Mission  work,  especially  in  disarming  the  prejudice  of  the 
Mussulmans,  and  showing  to  all  the  spirit  of  Christ.  (3) 
The  benefit  to  medical  students  in  connection  with  our  col- 
lege. I  now  have  a  small  class.  (4)  A  new  dwelling  for  the 
physician  must  be  provided,  and  the  Station  thinks  it  is 
better  here  than  in  the  city.  (5)  The  Station  believes  it 
absolutely  necessary,  for  the  work's  sake  and  for  safety,  to 
have  a  second  family  beside  that  of  the  Superintendent  of 
the  Seminary  on  the  ground.  It  is  an  economy  of  mission- 
ary force  that  the  second  man  be  the  physician. 

In  case  we  have  a  hospital  in  connection  with  the  Sem- 
inary I  would  still  have  certain  hours  for  labour  in  the 
city,  and  continue  the  dispensary  there  as  at  present. 

The  cost  of  a  hospital  building  need  not  be  large,  $1,500 
or  $2,000  would  answer  the  present  need.  The  running  ex- 
pense will  be  comparatively  small.  Some  will  be  charity 
patients,  but  the  majority  who  come  to  us  can  either  provide 
for  themselves  or  get  their  friends  to  defray  their  actual 
expenses.  So  far  we  have  received  enough  from  the  patients 
treated  to  pay  their  board  and  nursing.  I  now  have  under 
treatment  at  the  dispensary  a  poor  woman  whose  husband 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA  63 

works  out  by  the  day  and  earns  enough  to  pay  her  expenses. 
I  have  also  a  second  patient  whose  friends  contribute  enough 
to  enable  us  to  treat  him. 

The  good  women  who  have  done  so  well  for  the  Seminary 
we  hope  can  help  us  in  this  effort  to  do  good  to  both  the 
bodies  and  the  souls  of  men — one  highly  approved  certainly 
by  our  Lord's  example  in  His  earthly  life. 


The  Station  heartily  supported  his  plan :  "  Believing 
it  to  be  for  the  best  interests  of  the  missionary  cause 
in  Persia,  especially  among  Mohammedans,  to  estab- 
lish a  hospital,  we  heartily  approve  and  recommend 
the  establishment  of  such  a  hospital  as  Dr.  Cochran 
proposes  on  the  college  grounds,  and  we  earnestly  hope 
the  funds  may  be  granted  at  once  for  this,  the  first 
charity  of  the  kind,  so  far  as  we  know,  ever  proposed 
in  Persia."  These  facts  Dr.  Cochran  embodied  in  an 
appeal  to  friends.  Mr.  Clement,  Sr.,  gave  $1,000  for 
the  hospital.  The  balance  was  raised  in  due  time. 
The  hospital  was  begun  in  1880  and  finished  in  the  fall 
of  1882,  and  named  after  the  church  in  Buffalo,  "  The 
Westminster  Hospital."  Dr.  Cochran  described  it  as 
"  a  good-looking  building  which  will  comfortably  hold 
thirty  or  forty  patients  aside  from  drug  room,  operat- 
ing room,  storeroom,  etc."  Medical  work  had  gone  on 
steadily  while  it  was  building.  "  During  the  last  win- 
ter," he  wrote  in  1882,  "  we  treated  quite  a  number  of 
patients  in  the  two  wards  then  ready  for  use.  I  have 
continued  the  treatment  of  patients  in  the  dispensary 
at  the  city  once  a  week  with  an  average  attendance 
of  sixty,  and  have  daily  seen  a  number  here.  My  two 
medical  students,  who  are  doing  very  nicely,  attend  to 
a  large  majority  of  the  sick  who  come  to  see  me,  thus 
enabling  me  to  give  nearly  half  my  time  to  other  work. 
It  is  very  noticeable  how  rapidly  a  change  is  coming 


64  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

over  that  portion  of  this  community  which  sees  more 
of  our  methods  of  treatment,  and  the  greater  apprecia- 
tion and  confidence  shown  are  marked.  When  the 
hospital  is  opened  in  the  fall  much  more  of  my  time 
will  have  to  be  given  to  the  strictly  professional  work. 
Every  endeavour  will  be  made  to  make  this  institution 
a  blessing  to  the  land  and  to  the  cause."  He  included 
in  his  work  from  the  outset  the  training  of  some  native 
doctors  to  aid  him  in  his  practice  among  their  people. 
In  his  own  letters  Dr.  Cochran  alluded  only  modestly 
and  with  restraint,  as  was  his  way,  to  the  difficulties 
which  he  had  to  overcome  in  beginning  his  work  and 
building  the  hospital,  but  his  sister  Emma  who  was 
in  Urumia  during  these  years  recalls  them: 

That  winter's  work,  treating  those  who  came  to  the  dis- 
pensary, and  constantly  going  to  the  villages,  convinced  him 
of  the  small  results  to  be  obtained  by  the  hardest  working 
physician,  without  a  hospital.  The  people  were  mostly  too 
ignorant  to  be  trusted  with  strong  drugs,  arguing  with  more 
logic  than  common  sense  that  if  a  bottle  of  medicine,  ad- 
ministered a  few  drops  at  a  dose,  would  effect  a  cure  in  a 
week's  time,  the  whole  bottle  taken  at  once  would  cure  in 
one  day.  Then  again,  in  cases  of  very  simple  bandaging, 
poulticing,  or  eye  lotions,  the  dirty  rags  used  at  home  would 
quite  undo  all  the  good  of  the  ointments  or  lotions  given. 

During  the  building  of  this  hospital,  Joe  worked  early 
and  late.  Not  only  was  be  his  own  architect,  but  as  he  had 
not  men  wbo  could  intelligently  carry  out  his  desires  he 
had  to  be  over  them  continually.  One  can  literally  say  that 
not  a  yard  of  those  walls  went  up  without  his  supervision. 
Often  I  have  known  of  his  returning  from  a  visit  in  a  distant 
village  to  find  that  all  tbat  had  been  built  in  his  absence 
had  to  be  torn  down.  Aside  from  the  building  and  dis- 
pensary work  he  was  constantly  called  to  the  villages  to 
patients.  In  all  weathers  he  never  refused,  going  on  horse- 
back with  a  servant.  On  arriving  at  the  bouse  where  the 
patient  lay  he  invariably  found  the  yard  and  tbe  flat  roofs 


BEGINNING  WORK  IN  PERSIA  65 

crowded  with  people  who  had  patiently  been  waiting  to  see 
him,  and  he  would  go  from  house  to  house  and  listen  with  his 
never  failing  patience  and  kindness  to  the  long  stories  told 
in  the  rambling  way  those  people  have. 

I  have  often  been  with  him  on  these  days,  and  though 
the  sun  might  be  getting  ominously  near  its  setting,  and 
we  had  many  miles  to  go,  perhaps  in  deep  snow  or  slush,  or 
rain,  as  the  case  might  be,  I  never  remember  his  being  im- 
patient or  refusing  his  aid.  At  this  time,  too,  he  began  to 
lay  the  foundation  for  those  medical  classes  that  were  after- 
wards to  give  so  many  native  doctors  to  Persia,  doctors  whose 
work  has  been  little  heard  of  perhaps,  but  who  have  brought 
relief  to  thousands  who  otherwise  could  get  no  intelligent 
medical  aid. 

I  want  to  lay  particular  stress  on  what  is  to  me  the  most 
wonderful  point  in  Joe's  work.  And  that  is  his  courage  in 
undertaking  a  hospital  at  all  under  existing  circumstances. 
Just  think  of  the  facts.  There  was  no  drug  shop  in  the 
country,  that  is,  he  must  prepare  all  his  own  medicines.  He 
had  absolutely  no  assistant,  no  one  who  had  the  slightest 
training  as  druggist,  or  hospital  orderly!  There  were  no 
nurses  of  any  kind.  One  at  all  familiar  with  hospital  work 
with  the  conveniences,  assistants,  nurses,  etc.,  that  the  mod- 
ern physician,  and  particularly  surgeon,  considers  essential 
to  the  success  of  his  work  cannot  but  feel  admiration  for 
the  courage  and  strength,  physical  as  well  as  moral,  pos- 
sessed by  that  young  man.  I  know  so  often  in  the  begin- 
ning, before  the  hospital  was  really  ready  but  when  he  had 
one  or  two  rooms,  he  would  operate  while  a  servant  or  school- 
boy would  administer  chloroform.  He  would  have  to  drop 
his  knife  continually  to  feel  the  patient's  pulse,  and  instead 
of  giving  his  undivided  attention  to  the  delicate  work  in 
hand,  he  had  to  be  listening  to  the  breathing,  watch  the 
pulse,  and  himself  turn  and  select  instruments  as  they  were 
needed,  instead  of  having  them  silently  passed  to  him  by  a 
trained  assistant!  When  the  operation  was  over,  he  himself 
would  help  carry  the  patient  to  his  bed,  as  even  for  that 
work  he  could  not  yet  trust  his  kind  but  rough  helpers,  and 
if  it  was  a  serious  case,  he  would  sit  up  all  night,  or  at  least 
come  in  several  times  during  the  night.  The  prejudice  to 
all  surgical  operations,  that  and  the  fanaticism  an  unsuc- 


66  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

cessful  one  would  arouse,  made  his  cares  and  responsibilities 
even  greater  than  usual  in  such  cases.  I  remember  his 
saying  that  he  felt  it  would  be  wiser  to  refuse  to  operate 
on  any  case  the  success  of  which  was  at  all  doubtful  until 
the  confidence  of  the  people  in  his  hospital  was  won,  for 
at  that  early  stage  the  death  of  a  patient  on  the  operating 
table  might  have  meant  ruin  to  his  work.  There  were  sev- 
eral cases  that  tried  his  resolve  greatly,  cases  that  he  felt  he 
might  help,  but  did  not  dare  risk,  and  the  refusal  of  which 
gave  him  great  pain.  No  one  who  had  not  been  with  him 
in  those  days  can  understand  the  constant  strain  laid  upon 
him.  What  physician  in  Europe,  however  experienced,  will 
undertake  a  very  complicated  case  without  consulting  spe- 
cialists, or  other  colleagues?  Here  was  a  young  man  of  less 
than  twenty-five,  with  little  experience,  and  absolutely  alone, 
the  only  medical  man  for  hundreds  of  miles,  without  a  person 
with  whom  he  could  discuss  his  cases.  The  other  mission- 
aries could  turn  at  any  time  to  others  for  intelligent  counsel 
in  any  question  touching  their  work,  be  it  theological  or 
educational,  but  he  was  alone.  I  remember  so  well  his  face 
sometimes  after  a  very  hard  and  long  operation  as  he  would 
straighten  his  back  after  long  stooping,  and  with  such  a 
tired  smile  say  half  seriously,  "  Be  what  you  wish,  but  never 
be  a  doctor  in  Persia."  He  always  seemed  plder  after  these 
cases.  He  was  not  one  of  those  who  have  the  happy  faculty 
possessed  by  Napoleon  of  doing  his  work  the  best  he  could 
and  then  throwing  all  care  off.  He  carried  each  case  on  his 
heart,  and  after  a  hard  day's  work,  when  he  was  so  tired  he 
could  hardly  sit  up,  the  light  in  his  study  could  be  seen 
from  our  house  opposite  until  late — he  was  reading  up  on 
some  case  that  puzzled  him.  At  the  table,  if  a  dish  pleased 
him,  one  often  heard  him  say,  "  I  shouldn't  wonder  if 
Abdullah,  or  Nergis,  as  the  case  might  be,  could  eat  some 
of  this,"  and  at  once  some  would  be  sent  up  to  the  hospital 
to  tempt  an  invalid  whose  loss  of  appetite  was  worrying  him. 

During  the  building  of  the  hospital  Dr.  Cochran 
moved  from  the  city  to  some  rooms  in  the  new  college 
building,  and  then  to  his  own  house,  which  was  com- 
pleted before  the  hospital  and  in  which  he  spent  all 
his  remaining  years  in  Persia. 


VI 
FAMINE  AND  BELIEF 

THE  margin  of  supply  over  want  in  Asia  is  always 
narrow.  The  prevailing  poverty  of  the  people, 
the  want  of  exchangeable  wealth,  the  rapacity 
of  land  owners,  the  low  average  of  food  supply  to  the 
individual,  the  inequality  of  opportunity  and  power, 
the  absence  of  means  of  communication,  rendering  it 
impossible  to  carry  the  over-supply  of  one  region  to 
the  want  of  another,  and  the  prohibitive  cost  of  trans- 
portation where  it  is  possible,  these  are  a  few  of  the 
many  reasons  for  the  repeated  famines  of  Asiatic 
countries.  Even  the  fertile  plain  of  Urumia  has  re- 
peatedly suffered  from  such  times  of  destitution.  The 
beginning  of  Dr.  Cochran's  missionary  career  was  over- 
shadowed by  one  of  the  most  terrible  of  these  disasters. 
For  two  successive  years  there  was  a  failure  of  the 
crops,  due  to  lack  of  rain.  The  scarcity  and  distress 
which  ensued  were  aggravated  by  the  export  of  grain 
for  army  supplies  during  the  Russo-Turkish  war.  The 
suffering  began  in  Urumia  in  the  fall  of  1879.  Mrs. 
Cochran's  home  letters  show  what  it  was  and  what  part 
Dr.  Cochran  took  in  its  relief. 

NOVEMBER  2,  1879. — We  are  going  to  hare  fearful  times 
with  the  famine  this  winter,  I  am  afraid.  Already  it  is  be- 
ginning. Monday  a  mob  of  starving  people  rushed  into  the 
bazaars,  carrying  off  anything  they  could  lay  their  hands 
on.  They  also  broke  into  the  storehouses  of  wheat  belong- 

67 


68  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

ing  to  some  wealthy  Khans.  The  Prince  is  absent,  and  there 
is  no  one  to  exercise  any  authority.  I  hardly  think  they 
would  molest  us — our  past  record  is  good  in  times  of  famine, 
still  an  excited  mob  will  do  most  anything,  and  our  gates 
at  the  city  are  kept  locked,  and  barred.  Beggars  come  to 
us  every  day,  but  how  can  we  feed  and  clothe  all  Urumia? 
The  native  pastors  are  sending  out  a  petition  to  the  churches 
of  America  for  aid,  and  their  petition  will  be  endorsed  by 
all  our  gentlemen.  Wheat  is  now  $10  a  load  (about  340 
pounds).  Bread  is  the  chief  food  of  all  the  poorer  families, 
so  they  have  provided  for  nothing  else,  and  have  nothing 
now  that  wheat  is  so  dear.  Besides,  owing  to  the  dry  weather, 
other  things  that  might  take  the  place  of  bread  are  not  to 
be  found.  How  can  we  see  these  people  starving  all  around 
us?  One  woman  in  this  very  village  has  sold  her  daughter 
for  a  load  of  wheat. 

JANUARY  21st. — You  will  not  become  very  well  acquainted 
with  Joseph,  I  fear.  I  wish  he  could  write  more  frequently. 
He  often  speaks  of  it,  and  wishes  he  could,  but  still  one 
does  not  become  much  acquainted  with  him  by  letters.  One 
needs  to  live  with  him  day  by  day  to  know  how  gentle  and 
patient  he  is,  not  only  with  his  own  family,  but  with  all 
about  him. 

The  famine  grows  daily  worse.  We  cannot  see  people 
dying  about  us,  so  the  Mission  has  voted  to  expend  about 
two  hundred  dollars  weekly,  hoping  to  return  the  money  to 
the  treasury  when  we  receive  aid  from  England  and  Amer- 
ica. Joseph  has  the  whole  matter  in  charge,  but  I  hope  he 
will  now  be  somewhat  relieved  from  the  constant  run  upon 
him,  for  the  money  will  be  apportioned  among  the  different 
villages,  and  given  to  the  pastor  and  committee  under  him 
for  distribution.  We  think  aid  ought  to  be  given  first  to 
the  church  members  who  are  suffering,  then  to  members 
of  the  congregations,  and  afterwards  to  the  Mussulmans, 
who  have  not  so  much  claim  upon  us.  We  try  as  far  as  possi- 
ble to  make  the  people  work  for  the  money.  We  buy  cotton 
and  wool,  and  let  them  work  it  into  thread  and  cloth,  and  then 
buy  it  from  them.  Joe  and  I  have  a  little  plan  to  help  some. 
We  propose  to  buy  with  the  hospital  fund  some  of  this  cotton 
cloth  and  thread,  then  I  will  cut  sheets,  bed-ticks,  towels, 


FAMINE  AND  RELIEF  69 

shirts,  etc.,  needed  for  the  hospital,  and  give  the  work  to 
some  poor  women,  paying  for  the  making  out  of  the  poor 
fund.  Then  carpets  will  be  needed.  We  can  set  the  moun- 
tain Nestorians,  who  have  come  down  upon  us,  at  work  upon 
them.  The  money  now  promised  for  the  hospital,  however, 
is  not  enough  to  furnish  it,  only  build  it,  so  we  must  raise 
more. 

JANUARY  31st. — Christmas  has  again  come  and  gone.  On 
that  day  our  thoughts  wander  to  the  home  land,  and  how 
vivid  becomes  the  contrast  between  Christianity  and  Moham- 
medanism when,  instead  of  the  bright  picture  which  memory 
brings  of  gay  shop  windows,  happy  looking  people  with 
mysterious  bundles  under  their  arms,  merry  children  who 
can  hardly  wait  until  the  Christmas  tree  is  ready,  when 
instead  of  family  gatherings  and  church  gatherings,  instead 
of  the  joyous  quickening  which  comes  to  old  and  young 
hearts  on  this  anniversary  of  our  Saviour's  birth,  one  sees 
black  flags  flying  from  the  housetops  and  mosques,  hears 
loud  wailing  from  all  quarters,  and  the  muffled  drumbeats  as 
a  large  procession  passes  along  the  street,  a  procession  com- 
posed of  men  who  are  cutting  and  slashing  their  heads  and 
bodies  with  swords  until  the  blood  streams  down,  and  many 
fall  from  faintness.  For  our  Christmas  Day  was  the  great 
day  of  the  Moslem  month  of  mourning,  Muharram,  and 
whoever  dies  on  this  day  of  the  death  of  their  great  prophets, 
is  sure  of  going  straight  to  Paradise.  Thus  they  mourned 
for  the  death  of  the  earthly,  while  we  rejoiced  at  the  birth 
of  the  heavenly. 

There  is  enough  wheat  in  Urumia  to  feed  all  until  the 
next  harvest,  but  it  is  held  by  noblemen,  who  dole  it  out 
little  by  little  for  an  enormous  price. 

This  wretched  Persian  government,  even  if  it  cared  to  save 
the  people,  has  no  power  to  make  these  Khans  give  up  their 
stores.  With  very,  very  few  exceptions,  the  rich  in  the  city 
are  doing  absolutely  nothing  for  the  starving  around  them. 
If  they  go  to  the  Governor  for  help,  he  tells  them  to  go  and 
eat  their  children. 

Yesterday,  as  my  husband  and  myself  rode  along  the  street, 
a  Mussulman  woman  set  down  her  water-jar,  and  pointing 
to  us,  said  to  those  around  her,  "  I  am  a  sacrifice  to  the 


70  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

religion  of  these  people.  If  it  were  not  for  the  missionaries 
we  would  all  be  dead.  Our  religion  cares  nothing  for  the 
poor." 

Nothing  more  recommends  the  religion  of  Jesus  to  these 
people  than  the  fact  that  we  foreigners  pity  the  poor  and 
do  what  we  can  for  them,  while  their  own  countrymen  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  all  appeals. 

APRIL  1st. — Oh  dear,  when  will  this  dreadful  famine  end? 
Flour  is  fourteen  tomans  a  load  to-day!  About  every  even- 
ing we  hear  men  crying  in  the  streets,  "I'm  hungry!  I'm 
hungry !  "  Many  die  in  the  streets  every  day,  and  fathers  go 
around  begging,  carrying  their  dead  children  in  their  arms. 
Yesterday  a  poor  woman  came  to  the  house.  She  is  a  pretty 
young  woman,  and  belongs  to  a  high  family,  the  Nestor i  an 
Patriarch's.  Her  father  was  a  highly  esteemed  helper.  Her 
home  has  been  in  the  mountains.  She  said  there  was  nothing 
in  the  house,  and  there  was  nothing  in  the  village,  so  she 
and  a  number  of  others  started  to  come  down  through  the 
deep  snow  for  help.  It  was  a  desperate  journey  through  the 
snow;  nine  women  died  on  the  way.  She  left  three  children, 
one  a  baby  in  the  cradle.  She  caught  my  baby  up  in  her 
arms,  and  cried  as  though  her  heart  would  break.  She  is 
starting  back  with  some  provisions,  but  I  fear  she  will  find 
her  children  dead. 

In  June,  1880,  Dr.  Cochran  reported  carefully  to 
the  Board.  In  his  moderate  and  self-contained  style 
he  wrote: — 

Since  the  last  Station  letter  was  written,  nothing  of 
especial  note  has  occurred  in  the  general  mission  work. 
We,  however,  could  report  progress  frightful  and  rapid  in 
the  ravages  of  the  famine,  were  it  not  that  you  probably 
are  tired  of  hearing  this  old  and  distressing  story.  You 
will  pardon  us,  however,  if  we  dwell  a  moment  on  this  sub- 
ject, since  it  is  one  that  we  cannot  shut  our  eyes  to,  nor 
forget.  We  can  assure  you  that  we  are  tired  and  worn  out 
with  this  long,  constant  strain  on  our  sympathies.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  does  us  a  great  good  to  receive  and  distribute 
the  aid  that  is  so  generously  extended  to  us  from  abroad 
for  the  starving  about  us,  and  to  see  that  this  money  is 


FAMINE  AND  RELIEF  71 

saving  the  lives  of  many  hundreds.  Words  cannot  express 
our  gratitude  to  the  kind  friends  of  Persia,  in  America  and 
England,  for  the  unexpectedly  liberal  offering  to  this  object. 
Is  it  a  wonder  that  those  nations  are  blessed  above  all  others  ? 

But  notwithstanding  all  that  is  done  hundreds  are  dying 
about  us  daily,  many  are  left  in  the  city  and  villages  and  on 
the  roads,  where  they  fall,  unburied.  Their  friends  say,  "  We 
are  not  strong  enough  to  dig  their  graves;  we,  too,  are 
dying ! "  It  has  even  c<jme  to  this,  in  one  or  two  instances, 
that  parents  have  eaten  their  children !  The  desperate  look 
with  which  we  are  met  by  the  famishing,  the  earnest  pleas 
and  cries  for  bread  are  heartrending  in  the  extreme. 

The  methods  adopted  for  distributing  alms  and  relieving 
the  distress,  in  a  measure,  are  these:  First.  The  Native 
Charity  Board  is  systematically  engaged  in  ascertaining  the 
wants  of  the  poor  in  the  Christian  villages,  and  carrying  to 
them  the  aid  set  apart  for  them.  The  funds  placed  in  their 
hands  have,  up  to  the  present  time,  saved  the  Nestorians  on 
the  plain  from  actual  starvation,  but  now  many  are  dying. 

Second.     Money  is  sent  to  the  outlying  districts. 

Third.  We  endeavour  to  find  work  for  those  who  can 
help  themselves  in  this  way.  On  the  College  and  Hospital 
grounds  a  large  number  are  kept  at  work.  The  amount  of 
work  done  by  these  half-starved  men  and  boys  is  not  very 
great,  but  they  are  paid  good  wages  and  get  their  dinner. 
At  Seir  this  is  also  done  for  that  village  and  those  about  it. 
In  a  number  of  other  villages  a  plan  was  just  put  into 
operation  whereby  the  poor  are  employed  in  building  and 
repairing  chapels,  schools,  etc.  It  is  also  hoped  that  we  can 
begin  soon  to  build  a  bridge  across  the  Urumia.  River  which 
will  enable  us  to  employ  many  poor  who  are  daily  begging 
us  to  give  them  work.  Toward  this  last  object  we  believe 
we  can  get  some  help  from  the  nobility. 

Fourth.  At  the  city  we  have  kept  the  soup  house  in 
operation  all  winter,  giving  a  dinner  to  about  sixty  daily. 
The  capacity  of  this  is  now  increased,  and  in  addition  a 
bakery  is  established. 

Fifth.  We  also  have  begun  to  canvass  parts  of  the  city, 
with  a  view  of  giving  tickets  to  as  many  as  possible  for 
bread.  As  we  feared,  however,  in  beginning  this  under- 
taking we  went  beyond  our  depth,  for  immediately  on  making 


72  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

known  the  errand,  the  visitor  was  nearly  overwhelmed  by  the 
rush  of  the  hungry  on  him,  and  crowds  besieged  our  gates. 

Sixth.  Several  hundred  have  been  helped  off  to  Tiflis  to 
find  work. 

Seventh.  Over  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  seed  grain 
has  been  distributed. 

Although  we  have  every  prospect  of  good  crops  this  year 
where  seed  has  been  sown,  still  there  are  thousands  of 
families  who,  being  reduced  to  absolute  want,  have  nothing 
with  which  to  buy  food,  if  it  be  sold  at  a  pittance  even. 

Many  of  these  also  are  too  weak  to  earn  anything  if  they 
find  work.  There  is  a  dark  cloud  overhanging  this  land 
and  all  its  people,  which  God  alone  can  remove,  by  putting 
into  the  hearts  of  good  people  abroad  to  continue  to  do  what 
they  can  for  them,  not  only  until  harvest,  but  until  they 
are  again  able  to  stand  alone. 

A  fortnight  later  Dr.  Shedd,  one  of  the  senior  associates 
and  father  of  the  present  Dr.  Shedd  of  TJrumia,  reported 
in  detail : 

The  total  received  to  date  is  17,781  tomans. 

The  total  expended  to  date  is  12,696  tomans. 

The  toman  is  now  worth  $1.80  or  7s.  4d.  sterling. 

The  rules  of  distribution  have  been  (1)  To  save  our  church 
members.  (2)  To  save  all  Christians,  if  possible,  Protestants, 
Kestorians,  Armenians,  or  Catholic,  without  distinction. 
(3)  To  do  all  we  can  for  Jews  or  Mussulmans. 

The  results.  The  first  two  points  have  thus  far  been 
attained  in  TJrumia.  Very  few  Christians  of  the  5,000  fam- 
ilies in  this  district  have  died.  The  Jews  have  been  aided 
and  thousands  of  the  Moslems.  Five  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  tomans  have  been  spent  in  Tabriz  and  Teheran,  and 
nearly  2,000  tomans  have  been  sent  to  the  mountain  Nes- 
torians  and  other  districts  at  a  distance. 

The  difficulties  the  last  few  weeks  have  been  great  to 
obtain  money  or  grain.  The  drafts  could  not  be  sold,  nor 
could  money  be  borrowed.  The  money  is  not  in  the  country, 
and  the  grain  supply  is  limited  by  the  importations  from  the 
East  on  camels  and  other  animals.  We  should  not  have  a 
cent  in  hand  if  it  had  been  possible  to  turn  our  money  orders 
into  food.  It  has  been  impossible  to  increase  the  relief 


FAMINE  AND  RELIEF  73 

given,  and  we  have  feared  at  times  that  many  Christians 
must  die  because  no  food  could  be  had. 

The  harvest  is  still  three  or  four  weeks  in  the  future.  It 
promises  abundance.  The  prices  are  no  lower.  The  mor- 
tality is  very  great.  It  is  supposed  that  on  Monday  1,000 
persons  died  of  hunger  in  places  within  sight  of  our  Mission 
station. 

The  harvests  of  1880  were  good,  but  for  years  to 
come  the  effects  of  the  famine  were  felt.  They  were 
felt  most  of  all  in  social  morality.  A  large  pauper 
population  had  been  produced,  and  multitudes  had 
learned  to  beg,  while  the  relief  funds,  so  vast  in  Orien- 
tal peasant  eyes,  had  led  the  people  to  depend  upon 
the  great  beneficence  of  the  Christians  of  the  West  and 
on  the  possibility  of  further  help  through  the  mission- 
aries in  any  time  of  need.  Even  with  the  greatest  care 
famine  relief  is  likely  to  lead  to  enduring  and  harm- 
ful consequences.  It  is  impossible  to  resist  the  impulse, 
and  it  would  be  wicked  to  avoid  the  duty  of  such  re- 
lief, but  Missions  which  have  been  the  agencies  of  the 
distribution  have  had  to  accept  the  evil  consequences  of 
such  charity  as  well  as  the  good. 

The  young  missionary,  who  had  already  acquired 
a  unique  influence  by  his  character  and  his  medical 
work,  by  his  missionary  heredity  and  personal  dignity, 
now  added  to  this  by  his  prominence  in  the  work  of 
saving  life  and  relieving  suffering.  It  was  only  natu- 
ral that  the  people  should  come  to  think  of  him  as 
their  protector  and  friend.  His  romantic  relation  to 
the  great  Sheikh  Obeidullah,  who  led  the  Kurdish  in- 
vasion of  Persia  in  1880,  and  his  part  in  saving  the 
city  of  Urumia  from  capture  by  the  invaders  could 
have  but  the  one  effect  of  exalting  still  further  his 
position  in  the  minds  of  the  people  and  of  enlarging 
his  influence  for  good, 


VII 
THE  KURDISH  INVASION 

DR.  GOCHRAN'S  connection  as  a  young  medical 
missionary  of  twenty-five  with  the  great  Kurd- 
ish chief,  Sheikh  Obeidullah,  and  with  the  in- 
vasion which  he  led  into  Persia  is  more  like  fiction 
than  sober  missionary  history.  Next  to  the  Sultan 
and  the  Sheriff  of  Mecca  the  Sheikh  was  the  holiest 
person  among  the  Sunni  Mohammedans.  Thousands 
were  ready  to  follow  him  as  the  vicar  of  God.  He  was 
a  descendant  of  Mohammed,  and  claimed  to  be  of  the 
line  of  the  caliphs  of  Bagdad.  He  was  a  man  of  some 
real  virtues  of  character,  vigorous,  just,  and  courage- 
ous. He  had  conceived  the  ambition  of  establishing 
an  independent  Kurdistan,  uniting  all  the  Kurds  under 
his  rule,  and  governing  them  justly,  after  his  rough 
Kurdish  notions,  as  a  free  state.  He  was,  for  a  Kurd, 
a  man  of  wide  and  tolerant  sympathy.  He  wished  to 
be  on  good  terms  with  foreigners,  and  he  was  very 
fair  to  the  Christians.  Two  years  later  when  the 
Sheikh's  dream  had  vanished  and  he  was  a  prisoner 
in  Constantinople,  the  Sultan  asked  him  to  write  a 
paper  describing  the  condition  of  the  people  in  Kurdi- 
stan. The  Sheikh  wrote  in  his  paper  a  great  deal 
about  the  Nestorian  Christians  there,  praising  them 
as  the  best  subjects  of  the  Sultan.  The  Sultan  ob- 
jected to  such  language,  and  three  times  returned  the 
letter  for  correction.  Finally  the  Sheikh  said,  "  I 
don't  know  much  about  politics,  but  I  do  know  some- 

74 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  75 

thing  about  truth  telling,  and  this  is  the  truth."  In 
this  spirit  he  was  ruling  the  people  of  Kurdistan  with 
a  firm  hand  when  he  invited  Dr.  Cochran  to  come  up 
to  visit  him  and  prescribe  for  him  in  the  spring  of  1880. 
Dr.  Cochran  went  up  in  April,  and  in  June  wrote, 
reporting  his  visit  to  the  Board : — 

Two  weeks  ago  I  returned  from  a  trip  to  Nochea,  a  dis- 
trict in  Kurdistan,  two  and  a  half  days  distant.  I  went 
to  pay  a  visit  to  Sheikh  Obeidullah,  who  considers  himself 
the  third  man  in  ecclesiastical  rank  in  Islam.  He  is  also 
the  civil  monarch  of  the  Kurds.  He  has  seemed  disposed 
for  some  years  past  to  get  into  closer  relations  with  us  and 
the  civilized  world.  He  regards  the  Turks  and  Persians 
as  deceptive  people,  not  living  up  to  their  religion,  and  alto- 
gether too  depraved  to  hope  that  they  will  ever  again  hold 
the  position  they  once  commanded  among  the  other  nations. 
Regarding  them  in  the  light  that  he  does,  and  situated  as 
he  is  between  them,  he  wishes  to  have  the  moral,  if  not 
material,  support  of  a  better  people  and  government.  To 
this  end,  he  has  several  times  sent  to  us,  asking  that  we  put 
him  in  a  way  of  getting  such  help  from  the  British 
government.  Last  year  before  entering  on  a  campaign 
against  the  Turks,  to  whom  he  had  up  to  that  time  paid 
tribute,  he  sent  confidential  agents  to  us  repeating  this 
request.  Not  desiring  to  be  complicated  in  such  affairs  at 
such  a  time,  we  referred  them  to  the  English  consul  at 
Tabriz.  After  inflicting  considerable  damage  on  the  Turkish 
frontier,  an  understanding  was  come  to  by  which  the  Sheikh 
and  his  people  were  made  practically  independent  of  that 
government. 

We  hope  and  believe  that  our  visit  to  this  great  man's 
country  has  done  good,  both  for  now  and  for  the  future. 
We  had  opportunity  given  us  to  speak  very  freely  on  re- 
ligious subjects. 

Dr.  Cochran  wrote  a  fuller  and  more  general  letter 
to  his  friend  Mr.  Clement,  describing  in  detail  his 
journey  and  reception.  It  is  worth  while  to  quote  it 


76  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

in  full  as  it  sets  forth  the  conditions  amid  which  he 
had  constantly  to  work.  The  letter  was  printed  in 
the  Buffalo  Commercial  Advertiser  of  July  26th,  1880. 

For  a  number  of  years  this  Sheikh  has  appeared  very 
friendly  to  us,  often  sending  kind  messages  and  invitations 
to  have  us  visit  him.  A  few  weeks  ago  he  was  taken 
severely  ill,  and  therefore  sent,  asking  me  to  make  him  a 
visit.  It  was  thought  best  by  our  Station  that  I  go  up  and 
see  him,  both  as  an  expression  of  our  regard  for  him  and  to 
see  him  professionally.  Taking  with  me  three  of  our  native 
helpers  and  one  of  my  medical  students,  I  set  out  upon  the 
journey,  escorted  by  the  Kurdish  officer  and  fifteen  armed 
men  who  had  come  for  me. 

The  first  day's  journey  took  us  out  of  the  plain  of  Urumia 
up  a  fertile  valley,  past  an  ancient  castle  hewn  out  in  solid 
rock.  After  a  ride  of  five  hours,  we  came  out  on  the  plain 
of  Mergawar,  a  fine  grazing  district  dotted  here  and  there 
with  large  flocks  of  sheep  and  beautiful  fields  of  grain.  We 
rode  across  this  plain,  stopping  for  the  night  at  Bayrospie. 
Here,  as  we  rode  up  to  the  Kurdish  mosque,  we  were  met 
by  a  large  number  of  the  villagers  who  welcomed  us  among 
them.  I  was  guided  into  the  quarters  set  apart  for  us.  To 
get  to  this  apartment  I  followed  my  leader  through  numer- 
ous dark  passages.  Arriving  at  this  door  darkness  again, 
with  the  addition  of  a  most  stifling,  highly-perfumed  moist 
air,  greeted  us.  Groping  my  way  in  the  darkness,  I  found 
myself  a  seat  in  a  corner.  Into  this  room  were  brought 
some  of  our  horses,  baggage,  and  saddles,  and  soon  after 
supper  was  served.  A  sheepskin  was  brought  in  for  the 
table,  and  in  it  was  the  bread.  Spreading  the  skin  on  the 
floor,  roasted  lamb,  cheese,  honey,  and  milk  were  placed  on 
it.  After  supper  we  sat  around  a  flickering  light,  and  enter- 
tained ourselves  by  viewing  the  landscape  o'er.  I  described 
to  my  companions  the  conveniences  and  luxuriance  of  some 
of  the  American  hotels,  and  we  all  strove  to  imagine  our- 
selves quartered  in  one  of  those  palaces.  But  the  bleating 
of  two  lambs  imprisoned  under  a  basket,  the  neighing  of 
our  hungry  horses,  the  dreadful  air  which  we  had  to  breathe, 
and  the  fleas  now  busily  engaged  in  welcoming  us,  all  served 
effectually  to  banish  from  our  thoughts  any  possibility  of 


Dr.  Cochran  and  a  Kurdish  Sheikh 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  77 

being  in  one  of  the  hotels  described.  To  add  to  my  discom- 
fort, I  was  informed  that  my  bedstead  and  bedding,  and  the 
barley  for  our  horses  would  not  reach  us  that  night.  About 
10  o'clock,  however,  they  arrived,  and  I  was  soon  occupying 
a  Kurdish  bed  on  the  floor. 

Tired  as  we  were,  we  could  not  sleep  much.  Samuel,  the 
medical  student,  having  dozed  off,  had  something  from  the 
ceiling  drop  on  his  upturned  face  which  made  him  jump  out 
of  his  sleep  and  bed,  with  a  cry  that  awoke  all  who  had 
fallen  off  to  sleep.  A  lamb  or  cat  came  to  my  bed  and 
licked  my  hand,  which  startled  me  so  that  I  jumped,  dream- 
ing it  was  something  more  serious,  and  shook  my  travelling 
bedstead  so  that  it  fell  partly.  At  midnight,  a  rooster 
which  I  had  not  discovered  in  the  evening,  true  to  his  nature, 
began  to  crow,  and  kept  it  up  at  intervals  for  the  rest  of  the 
night.  Thus  we  passed  the  night,  rising  at  four,  to  seek 
the  outdoor  air.  Owing  to  the  bad  roads  ahead  we  were 
compelled  to  stop  over  that  day  and  wait  for  mules  to  be 
sent  down  to  us.  We  therefore  refused  to  go  back  in  the 
house  where  we  spent  the  night,  but  were  admitted  to  their 
church,  which  was  a  far  superior  place.  After  breakfast 
we  took  a  walk  up  a  valley,  at  the  head  of  which  is  a  famous 
strong  castle.  In  the  afternoon  we  divided  our  party  into 
three  sets,  and  visited  nearly  all  the  villages  on  this  plain 
in  which  there  are  Christians.  We  found  them  exceedingly 
poor,  ignorant,  and  downtrodden. 

Next  morning  starting  out  at  sunrise,  with  our  baggage 
on  men's  backs,  escorted  again  by  armed  men,  we  began  to 
ascend  the  high  range  of  mountains  which  start  from  near 
the  Persian  Gulf,  extending  to  Ararat,  N.  E.  Immediately 
on  leaving  the  plain  and  entering  the  mountain  pass  we 
found  ourselves  in  deep  snow  in  which  our  horses  found  it 
very  difficult  to  travel  with  us  on  their  backs,  so  that  we 
dismounted.  We  continued  to  ascend  in  this  way,  rising 
very  abruptly  for  three  hours,  when  we  reached  the  highest 
point  in  the  pass,  and  the  boundary  line  between  Persia  and 
Turkey — also  the  watershed. 

Here  the  road  must  be  at  least  9,000  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  sea,  but  the  mountains  on  either  side  tower  up  to  a 
much  greater  height,  covered  perpetually  with  snow.  Be- 
ginning to  descend,  we  find  the  roads  as  bad  as  ever,  deep 


78       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

snow  often  covering  the  road  for  a  long  distance.  These 
melting  snows  make  the  grass  and  flowers  beautifully  fresh 
and  fragrant. 

Until  noon  we  pursued  this  course  on  foot,  now  stopping 
to  help  up  a  fallen  horse,  and  now  to  hold  onto  our  horses, 
which  are  not  accustomed  to  the  narrow  roads,  as  we  go 
along  precipices  looking  down  thousands  of  feet,  or  along 
great  beds  of  snow.  From  every  dale  and  valley  flow  waters 
to  swell  the  stream  which  is  now  a  rushing,  roaring,  foaming 
river,  dashing  down  this  large  valley.  As  we  continue  our 
journey  we  find  the  slopes  of  the  mountains  covered  with 
oak,  pear,  and  apple,  and  walnut  trees.  Here  and  there  we 
find  the  broad  valley  and  river  completely  bridged  across 
by  the  snow  that  has  slidden  down  from  above,  making  a 
depth  of  snow  in  one  place  of  at  least  100  feet.  These 
avalanches,  as  described,  are  exceedingly  fearful — coming 
down  from  great  distances  with  terrific  speed  and  thundering 
noise,  which  echoes  and  re-echoes  up  and  down  the  valleys, 
carrying  everything  in  its  course,  uprooting  immense  rocks 
and  trees,  and  finally  bringing  up  at  the  bottom  with  a  crash 
that  shakes  the  earth  like  an  earthquake. 

We  passed  these  mountains  of  snow,  either  by  coming 
over  them  or  by  carefully  picking  our  way  down  and  around 
them.  At  noon  we  met  the  mules  the  Sheikh  had  sent  for 
us.  The  mule  he  rides  over  such  roads  was  sent  for  me. 
Our  ride  in  the  afternoon  was  even  more  pleasant.  At  3, 
crossing  a  spur  of  the  mountain,  we  came  out  upon  a  most 
charming  valley.  Here  two  or  three  villages  with  their  two- 
story  houses  and  fields  of  tobacco  were  seen.  Two  hours 
more  brought  us  to  our  stopping  place  for  the  night.  On 
approaching  this  village,  by  climbing  up  a  steep  hill  to  it, 
the  village  lost  its  beauty. 

Its  streets  and  inhabitants  are  dirty.  The  second  stories 
of  the  houses  are  made  of  a  sort  of  basket-work  and  used 
to  dry  tobacco  in.  We  passed  that  night  in  one  of  these. 
Next  morning  we  continued  on  through  this  pretty  valley 
for  two  hours,  then  climbed  a  mountain  which  shuts  Nayris 
out  on  the  east  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  Reaching  the  top 
with  difficulty,  Nayris,  our  destination,  was  in  view  beneath 
us.  We  rested  here  a  little,  and  looked  about  us.  On  every 
side  were  mountains  and  valleys.  The  narrow,  dangerous 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  79 

path  over  which  we  had  been  travelling  for  the  last  two 
hours  is  wholly  impassable  for  an  army.  The  descent  from 
this  point  to  the  town  is  so  steep  that  I  did  not  care  to 
trust  myself  even  on  a  mule. 

Nayris,  this  town  of  about  400  houses,  the  capital  of 
Kurdistan,  is  situated  in  a  deep,  crater-like  depression. 
Every  road  leading  to  it  is  as  difficult  as  the  ones  we  took. 
Making  our  way  down  the  mountain  we  stopped  at  a  spring 
in  order  to  give  opportunity  for  announcing  our  arrival. 
Soon  three  chiefs,  with  their  men,  came  out  to  receive  us. 
One  of  them  was  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  robbers  who 
attacked  and  robbed  my  father  some  twenty  years  ago,  and 
attempted  to  take  his  life.  Arriving  in  the  village,  we  were 
shown  into  a  large,  fine  room,  richly  carpeted.  After  being 
seated  the  Sheikh's  purser  entered,  bearing  a  bowl  of  rose 
water  and  a  towel,  and  delivered  a  message  of  welcome  from 
the  Sheikh.  I  washed  my  face,  and  then  was  shown  a  place 
to  rest  till  dinner  time,  which  was  served  half  an  hour  later. 
Then  waiters  were  brought  in.  One  rather  more  tastefully 
arranged  and  with  extra  side-dishes  was  placed  on  the  floor 
beside  me,  the  others  for  my  men.  This  dinner  consisted  of 
coloured  rices,  roasted  partridge,  cheese,  honey,  and  sweetened 
water.  After  dinner  coffee  was  passed,  and  then  news  came 
that  the  Sheikh  would  like  me  to  come  to  him  if  I  were  suffi- 
ciently rested.  Taking  with  me  four  of  my  men,  I  went  to  his 
room.  On  entering  the  room  he  came  nearly  across  it,  feeble 
as  he  was,  to  meet  me,  and  showed  me  to  a  chair  by  his  side. 
My  men  were  invited  to  sit  down  on  my  side  of  the  room, 
nearer  the  door.  On  his  other  side,  at  a  distance  and  on 
the  floor,  sat  his  son  and  heir  apparent. 

The  Sheikh  is  fifty-three  years  old,  rather  prepossessing 
in  his  appearance  and  manners.  He  dresses  in  flowing  robes 
of  broadcloth,  and  wears  a  white  turban.  He  is  a  man  well 
read  in  Persian  and  Arabic  literature.  He  has  also  read 
most  of  the  Bible,  a  copy  of  which  we  sent  him  last  year. 
He  is  a  man  who  is  ambitious  to  have  the  civilized  world 
know  that  even  here  in  wild  Kurdistan  there  is  a  little  king- 
dom whose  laws  are  superior  to  those  of  her  neighbours, 
Persia  and  Turkey,  and  that  she  has  the  power  to  carry 
them  out.  He  is  a  very  pious  man,  constantly  speaking  of 
God,  and  trying,  he  says,  to  do  His  will,  according  to  his 


80  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

religion.  He  is  a  just  judge  over  his  people,  a  kind  lord 
to  his  citizens,  if  they  do  his  will — otherwise  very  cruel. 
There  are  a  few  tribes  of  Kurds  in  Persia  who  are  not  his 
subjects,  and  they  are  the  men  who  make  their  living  by 
robbing  and  killing.  He  seemed  to  enjoy  conversing  on  all 
subjects  with  me.  During  the  week  that  I  stayed  at  his 
house,  I  had  many  very  pleasant  talks  with  him.  He  was 
very  much  interetsed  in  hearing  about  the  new  inventions 
and  other  wonders  of  the  Western  world.  His  son  is  also 
a  pleasant,  intelligent  man,  who  seems  to  be  following  in  his 
father's  footsteps.  I  spent  the  week  at  Nayris  in  talking 
with  the  Sheikh  at  least  two  hours  a  day,  and  receiving 
calls  from  his  son  and  many  Kurdish  chiefs  from  different 
parts  of  the  country,  who  had  come  to  pay  their  respects 
to  the  Sheikh.  Except  in  the  winter,  when  the  roads  are 
blocked  up,  from  500  to  1,000  persons  are  entertained  daily  at 
this  great  man's  personal  expense.  There  are  men  of  differ- 
ent ranks  who  are  his  guests.  During  the  famine  he  has  fed 
sixty  persons  daily,  of  the  poor.  The  majority  of  the  people 
whom  I  saw  came  to  me,  as  well  to  be  treated,  as  to  see  me 
for  curiosity  or  other  reasons,  so  that  I  saw  and  treated  a 
very  large  number  of  Kurds  in  my  absence  from  home.  On 
leaving,  the  Sheikh  presented  me  with  his  war-horse  as  a 
token,  he  said,  of  his  gratitude  to  me  for  visiting  him  in 
his  illness,  and  of  his  firm  friendship  toward  us.  Returning 
we  came  over  the  same  road,  reaching  home  after  an  absence 
of  about  two  weeks.  He  sent  his  servants  down  with  us,  and 
commanded  that  all  respect  should  be  paid  to  me  everywhere, 
and  that  I  be  entertained,  with  my  party,  on  the  best  that 
the  land  could  afford.  In  this  way  I,  with  my  party,  was  his 
guest  from  the  time  I  left  home  until  I  returned  to  it, 
he  paying  all  expenses. 

There  are  a  number  of  Christian  villages  in  these  moun- 
tains where  our  road  led  us.  Some  of  them  I  visited,  and 
the  rest  were  visited  by  some  of  the  helpers.  Finding  them 
in  great  distress,  we  distributed  to  them  some  help  which 
we  had  brought,  knowing  that  many  of  them  were  dying. 
They  besought  us  to  send  them  a  man  to  preach  to  them  and 
to  teach  their  children.  All  of  us  who  took  this  journey  will 
remember  it  with  pleasure,  and  will  hope  that  some  good 
was  done  to  those  we  visited. 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  81 

Some  further  interesting  incidents  of  the  visit  are 
recalled  by  Dr.  Cochran's  youngest  sister  who  was  with 
her  mother,  but  who  left  Urumia  in  September  of  the 
same  year  on  account  of  illness,  not  returning  until 
October,  1885. 

I  remember  how  struck  Joe  was  by  the  combination  of 
shrewdness,  natural  common  sense,  and  utter  ignorance  of 
that  great  Sheikh.  He  knew  nothing  whatever  of  geography, 
and  one  day  in  the  course  of  conversation  he  put  down  a 
quince,  and  said,  "  Now,  doctor,  this  is  Nochea  (his  district). 
Show  me  where  Moscow,  and  London,  and  Teheran  are." 
And  with  apples  and  pears  Joe  made  for  this  overgrown 
child  a  map  of  the  countries. 

This  visit  to  Sheikh  Obeidullah  and  the  friendship 
which  it  established  between  him  and  Dr.  Cochran  had 
significant  results.  The  old  Sheikh  had  some  griev- 
ances against  Persia,  and  his  ambition  included  the 
absorption  in  his  proposed  kingdom  of  the  Kurdish 
district  in  northwestern  Persia.  He  sent  his  son 
down  to  Urumia  in  the  summer  to  negotiate  with  the 
local  Persian  government,  and  the  son,  of  course, 
sought  out  Dr.  Cochran  and  was  entertained  by  him. 
Mrs.  Cochran  writes  home  on  August  2nd,  1880,  from 
Seir:— 

I  must  tell  you  about  our  Kurdish  dinner  party.  The 
Sheikh's  son  sent  word  that  he  would  come  Saturday  at 
sundown.  So  we  sent  for  the  Mussulman  cooks;  they  only 
can  prepare  pillau;  then  we  had  about  ninety  pounds  of 
rice  picked  over,  two  lambs  killed,  ice  brought,  etc.  We  set 
the  table  in  the  parlour.  About  seven  the  party  arrived, 
about  thirty  horsemen  only.  We  had  been  told  that  there 
would  be  at  least  sixty  servants.  Eleven  only  sat  at  the 
table  with  us,  the  others  were  servants  or  inferior  in  rank. 
They  were  first  taken  to  Mrs.  Labaree's  parlour  and  treated 
to  sherbet,  and  soon  after  to  ice-cream  and  cake.  I  think  it 
was  nearly  8:30  before  we  sat  down  to  the  table.  It  was  a 


82  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

strange  sight,  at  least  it  would  have  been  to  you,  these  wild 
Kurds,  very  richly  dressed,  and  all  armed  with  swords  and 
pistols,  sitting  down  to  a  table  daintily  arranged  with 
flowers  and  silver,  and  with  ladies,  for  the  first  time,  I 
presume.  Those  near  the  Sheikh's  son  behaved  well,  and 
did  well  with  knives  and  forks,  and  napkins,  but  those  at 
the  opposite  end  played  and  mussed  like  little  children. 
After  dinner  they  adjourned  to  the  roof.  It  was  a  glorious 
night.  They  departed  about  eleven  o'clock.  I  think  they 
would  have  remained  over  night  if  we  had  urged  the  matter 
at  all,  but  we  were  careful  not  to  mention  it.  They  made  a 
pretty  show  as  they  loaded  their  guns,  and  galloped  away 
in  the  moonlight !  Thus  we  entertained  Joe's  robber  friends. 
Just  as  they  were  leaving,  one  of  them  asked  Emma  to  open 
the  door  of  our  bedroom  for  him.  He  said  he  had  put  his 
sword  in  there.  And  sure  enough  he  drew  it  out  from 
under  the  cradle,  where  the  baby  was  sleeping  peacefully. 
It  is  fortunate  he  did  not  throw  it  into  the  cradle.  Emma 
said  he  stopped  and  stared  in  astonishment  at  the  fair  little 
boy. 

The  political  result  of  the  son's  visit  was  unsatis- 
factory, and  in  the  fall  the  Sheikh  came  down  with 
his  army  in  an  invasion  of  Persia,  and  laid  siege  to 
Urumia.  Mrs.  Cochran's  letters  give  a  vivid,  contem- 
poraneous account  of  the  siege : — 

COLLEGE,  October  6th,  1880. — It  seems  that  war  is  to  fol- 
low famine.  Our  friend,  the  Sheikh,  is  at  war  with  Persia. 
When  Joe  was  with  him,  he  told  him  that  he  wished  to 
gather  in  all  the  Kurdish  districts  lying  around  Urumia, 
and  form  a  consolidated  Kurdish  nation.  On  this  mission, 
his  son  came  last  summer,  when  we  entertained  him  at  Seir. 
What  the  result  of  this  interview  with  the  government  was, 
we  do  not  know,  but  probably  unfavourable  to  the  Sheikh's 
project,  for  a  large  Kurdish  army  has  long  been  mustering, 
and  within  the  last  few  days,  with  the  Sheikh's  son  at  its 
head,  has  come  down  and  taken  some  of  these  Kurdish  dis- 
tricts. He  has  carried  all  before  him  so  far,  and  is  now 
around  the  southern  end  of  the  Lake.  The  Kurds  friendly  to 
the  Persian  government,  which  were  sent  to  fight  the  Sheikh, 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  83 

all  went  over  to  his  side,  so  that  now  he  has  a  perfect  horde 
with  him  of  these  wild,  lawless  men.  At  one  place  the 
Sheikh  halted  at  a  little  distance  from  a  city,  and  sent  a 
number  of  men  to  ask  for  food  for  his  army.  These  men 
were  all  surrounded  and  killed  by  the  Persians.  In  revenge, 
the  Sheikh,  on  taking  the  city,  told  the  men  to  slaughter 
men,  women,  and  children,  and  it  was  done.  It  is  reported 
that  he  means  to  take  Tabriz.  We  think  he  would  do  it 
only  to  frighten  the  Persians  into  making  terms  with  him. 
Don't  be  alarmed;  they  won't  touch  us  even  if  they  do 
come  to  Urumia.  The  Sheikh  is  our  friend.  But  do  you 
know,  they  say  that  Joe  got  up  this  war.  They  say  that  was 
his  mission  to  the  Sheikh  last  spring,  also  that  Captain 
Clayton  of  Van  has  been  instigating  the  Sheikh  to  this,  that 
Joe  went  to  Van  to  consult  with  Captain  Clayton,  and  now 
that  the  English  consul  from  Tabriz  is  here,  it  is  still  more 
suspicious.  I  don't  suppose  the  Governor  believes  this  or 
any  of  the  higher  people.  If  they  did  it  might  be  unpleasant 
for  us,  but  it  is  only  the  talk  among  the  people.  We  appre- 
hend no  danger  to  ourselves  personally  nor  must  you,  though 
you  should  not  receive  letters  regularly.  Probably  the 
Sheikh  will  be  repulsed  soon  and  go  home  to  his  mountains, 
or  if  he  should  even  come  here  we  are  assured  of  his  friend- 
ship. 

OCTOBER  llth. — There  is  not  much  new  about  the  war.  The 
Sheikh's  son  is  still  around  the  southern  end  of  the  Lake, 
another  son  has  a  large  army  a  short  distance  back  of  Seir 
Mountain,  and  still  another  army  is  gathering  in  another 
direction,  which,  it  is  said,  the  Sheikh  will  command  in 
person.  The  Persian  troops  are  gathering.  There  is  quite 
an  encampment  not  far  from  us  here.  A  regiment  came  in 
from  Khoi  on  Sunday,  their  baggage  brought  by  camels. 
These  Persian  soldiers  are  a  poor  defence,  they  look  as  if 
they  would  run  away  if  you  pointed  a  finger  at  them.  Why 
should  they  fight,  poor  fellows?  They  are  starved  on  four 
cents  a  day,  have  no  clothes,  no  proper  guns  or  ammuni- 
tion, are  forced  into  the  service,  have  no  pride  in  or  love 
for  their  country,  no  leader  to  inspire  them  with  enthusiasm. 
Why  should  they  not  desert,  or  run,  or  surrender  at  first 
sight  of  the  enemy?  The  Governor  of  the  city  was  here  to 


84  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

call  this  afternoon.  He  says  the  Persians  are  determined  to 
fight  it  out  with  the  Sheikh.  We  are  placed  in  a  rather 
difficult  position.  Of  course  we  ought  to  maintain  a  neutral 
position,  being  friends  of  both  parties,  but  the  Sheikh  keeps 
sending  Joe  letters,  which  makes  the  Persians  think  that 
we  are  in  league  with  him,  and  of  course  if  we  betray  any- 
thing to  the  Governor,  the  Sheikh  would  be  displeased.  The 
Governor  seems  very  friendly  of  late,  perhaps  because  the 
English  consul  is  here.  The  report  is  now  that  150  villages 
were  sacked  by  the  Sheikh's  son  at  the  time  the  city  of 
Mianduab  was  taken,  and  the  inhabitants  massacred,  and 
over  4,000  people  must  have  perished  in  all.  And  to  think 
that  the  man  who  ordered  all  this  cruelty  sat  at  our  table 
at  Seir  a  few  months  ago ! 

OCTOBER  18th. — These  are  stirring  times  for  Urumia.  On 
Saturday  the  soldiers  stationed  near  us  moved  towards  Gav- 
alan,  about  fifteen  or  sixteen  miles,  and  all  day  yesterday 
were  fighting  with  the  Kurdish  army.  This  evening  news 
has  come  that  the  Persian  army  is  defeated,  and  the  Kurds 
are  advancing  upon  the  city.  It  is  hardly  expected,  how- 
ever, that  they  will  reach  it  to-night.  Yesterday  a  letter  came 
from  the  Sheikh's  brother-in-law,  who  is  in  command  of 
the  army  now  advancing,  saying  that  he  was  responsible  that 
no  non-combatants,  Nestorian  or  Mussulman,  should  be  hurt, 
that  it  was  not  his  design  to  harm  the  people  of  the  country. 
This  was  in  reply  to  a  letter  Joe  sent  him,  asking  him  to 
abstain  from  any  violence  to  the  people.  He  also  asked  that 
we  send  him  a  little  tea,  but  I  fear  the  Persians  would 
consider  this  giving  aid  to  the  enemy.  Joe  is  not  here 
to-night.  He  is  in  the  city.  He  amputated  a  man's  foot 
this  morning,  and  felt  that  he  ought  to  be  within  call 
to-night.  Well,  we  can  only  wait  and  see  what  the  night 
or  the  morning  will  bring  forth.  Our  trust  is  in  God,  and 
He  will  not  suffer  us  to  be  moved.  When  I  started  to  come 
to  this  far  off  land,  I  committed  myself  entirely  to  His 
keeping,  and  I  have  never  felt  any  fear.  This  morning  I 
went  into  the  city  with  Joe,  and  took  up  all  my  plants  in  the 
yard.  To-morrow,  if  the  Kurds  do  not  hold  possession,  I 
think  I  shall  go  in,  and  move  out  all  our  remaining 
goods. 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  85 

OCTOBER  21st. — Nothing  took  place  the  night  when  I  wrote 
last,  but  now  the  aspect  is  very  warlike.  The  army,  which 
we  thought  advancing  upon  the  city,  is  still  some  distance 
away,  but  holds  the  Governor  of  the  city  surrounded.  Yes- 
terday afternoon  a  cry  was  raised,  "  The  Kurds  are  coming." 
We  looked  from  the  roof,  and  an  army  was  pouring  down  the 
Seir  Mountain.  A  few  moments  later,  Mr.  Labaree,  Sr., 
rode  into  the  yard,  looking  very  pale,  and  without  his  coat. 
He  had  started  to  go  from  the  city  to  Seir,  and  was  robbed 
by  a  party  of  Kurds  out  for  plunder.  They  took  away  his 
horse  twice,  but  gave  it  back.  He  remained  down  all  night. 
There  was  no  gentleman  in  Seir.  Last  evening  we  could 
see  the  campfires  on  the  Seir  Mountain.  The  great  Sheikh 
himself  encamped  about  a  mile  from  Seir,  and  his  son, 
with  another  army,  just  below  Seir.  On  the  top  of  the 
mountain  was  a  signal  fire,  I  suppose  for  the  other  army  to 
know  that  they  had  arrived.  All  the  people  from  the  neigh- 
bouring Nestorian  village  of  Hussar  came  rushing  over  with 
beds  on  their  backs,  driving  cows,  buffaloes,  and  sheep  into 
our  premises.  Last  night  the  village  was  plundered  and 
nearly  destroyed  by  a  marauding  band  of  Kurds.  The  city 
was  in  a  panic.  They  tried  to  mend  the  old  broken  gates, 
and  brought  out  all  the  cannon.  The  Sheikh  sent  word  to 
Seir  that  the  ladies  should  not  be  alarmed,  that  no  harm 
should  come  to  them,  and  sent  them  a  guard.  He  also  de- 
sired that  Joe  should  come  up  and  see  him  this  morning. 
The  acting  Governor  of  the  city  also  wished  that  Joe  should 
go  and  see  what  terms  could  be  made.  So  he  went  up  this 
morning  with  Mr.  Labaree  with  a  Kurdish  escort  of  150 
horsemen,  all  splendidly  armed  and  mounted.  Joe  came  down 
to  dinner.  The  Sheikh  was  bent  upon  attacking  the  city 
unless  the  people  came  to  terms,  but  they  dally  strangely, 
when  it  seems  so  useless  to  resist  and  have  blood  shed. 
There  are  no  soldiers  here  in  Urumia,  no  one  to  fight  but 
the  city  rabble,  and  there  sits  that  immense  wild  Kurdish 
army  not  six  miles  distant  from  them.  Joe  and  the  British 
consul  then  went  into  the  city  to  try  to  induce  the  Persians  to 
surrender,  but  they  desired  Joe  to  go  again  to  the  Sheikh 
and  ask  for  one  more  day  to  consider  the  matter.  He  has 
gone,  but  has  not  returned  yet.  If  the  Persians  do  not  come 
to  terms  soon,  it  will  be  a  wild  sight  to  see  that  Kurdish 


86  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

horde,  impatient  for  plunder,  rush  down  from  the  mountain 
on  to  the  city.  It  would  not  take  them  many  moments, 
for  they  are  surprisingly  swift  in  their  movements.  The 
Sheikh  requests  that  none  of  us  stay  in  the  city;  he  cannot 
be  responsible  for  what  his  men  may  do.  He  says  if  we 
raise  our  flag  over  our  place,  our  goods  shall  be  safe,  or  he 
will  return  every  shahie's  worth.  As  the  consul  is  with  us 
we  have  have  made  a  British  flag  to  raise  over  the  college. 
Thus  we  stand  between  two  powers,  trying  to  avoid  blood- 
shed. Mussulman  and  Nestorians  alike  appeal  to  us  for  pro- 
tection. The  Catholics,  too,  wish  to  take  refuge  with  us. 
If  war  is  the  decision,  we  are  going  to  bring  out  the  girls' 
school,  and  put  them  in  the  large  room  used  as  a  chapel. 
I  hardly  know  what  we  are  going  to  eat.  Of  course,  the 
bazaars  in  the  city  are  closed.  Almost  all  my  flour  is  still 
in  our  cellar  in  the  city.  I  don't  know  as  this  letter  will 
ever  reach  you;  the  incoming  mail  was  robbed.  Do  not  be 
alarmed  if  you  do  not  hear  regularly,  for  the  Sheikh  is  our 
firm  friend,  and  will  not  see  us  harmed. 

SUNDAY,  October  24th. — As  I  wrote  on  the  21st,  Joe  went 
up  at  the  request  of  the  Persians,  and  asked  the  Sheikh  to 
delay  his  attack,  and  he  said  that  for  Joseph's  sake  he  would 
not  come  to  the  city  until  three  the  next  afternoon.  Friday, 
the  22nd,  about  noon,  we  all  went  on  the  roof  of  our  house 
at  the  college,  and  watched  the  Kurdish  army  pouring  down 
the  mountain  and  across  the  plain.  They  do  not  march  in 
solid  ranks,  or  in  any  kind  of  order,  but  the  infantry  came 
straggling  along,  and  Ihe  cavalry  dash  about  here  and  there 
on  a  full  run.  The  whole  army  came  to  the  garden  where  we 
had  our  Fourth  of  July  picnic,  a  little  above  us.  At  3  p.  M., 
the  Kurds  broke  up  camp,  and  marched  by  us  toward  the  city. 
It  is  a  fearful  sight  to  see  an  army  marching  on  to  battle. 

It  was  a  great  question  whether  or  not  any  of  our  gentle- 
men should  remain  in  the  city  premises.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Whipple  were  there  in  the  city.  The  Labarees  and  Mrs. 
Cochran,  Sr.,  were  at  Seir.  The  rest  of  us  are  at  the  college 
and  hospital  property,  two  miles  out  from  the  city. 

Our  yard  in  the  city  was  full  of  native  Christians,  and  it 
seemed  cruel  to  leave  them  alone ;  besides,  if  the  missionaries 
there  left,  they  would  be  sure  to  follow,  and  perhaps  thus 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  87 

enrage  the  Mussulmans  against  themselves  and  us.  Mr. 
Whipple  said  he  would  stay,  and  had  sent  out  his  wife  and 
child  in  the  morning,  but  he  did  not  wish  to  stay  alone. 
Joe  would  have  gone,  only  Mrs.  Oldfather  was  expecting  to 
be  confined  any  day.  A  little  after  noon  it  was  decided  that 
Joe  should  go  in  and  make  a  last  effort  for  peace  with  the 
authorities,  come  out  if  he  could,  and  then  Mr.  Shedd  go  in 
and  spend  the  night.  I  said  good-bye  to  Joe  with  a  tremb- 
ling heart,  for  I  thought  perhaps  he  might  have  to  stay  for 
days  in  a  beleaguered  city.  Joe  went  in,  and  just  before 
three  o'clock  saw  some  of  the  principal  Khans  sitting  around 
the  gate.  They  all  gathered  about  him,  and  besought  him 
to  carry  one  more  message  to  the  Sheikh,  begging  that  he 
would  wait  until  morning.  I  forgot  to  say  that  that  day  the 
Governor  arrived  with  about  two  thousand  men,  having  es- 
caped from  the  Kurds  who  were  surrounding  him  under  the 
Khalifa.  Joe  told  them  it  was  too  late,  but  went  out  to  meet 
the  Sheikh.  He  met  the  whole  Kurdish  army  advancing, 
yelling,  toward  the  city.  They  told  him  the  Sheikh  would 
not  listen,  so  he  turned  and  ran  his  horse  back  to  the  city, 
and  told  the  Khans  that  the  Kurds  were  coming.  They 
were  sitting,  coolly  smoking  their  pipes,  but  this  put  them 
in  a  panic,  and  they  said,  "What  shall  we  do?  What  shall 
we  do  ? "  "  Surrender,"  said  Joe,  "  if  you  cannot  keep  the 
city.  If  you  can,  then  fight;  that  is  your  duty."  Then  he 
returned  here  to  the  gardens,  but  before  Mr.  Shedd  was 
ready  to  go,  the  fighting  had  begun,  and  it  was  folly  to  try 
to  enter  the  city.  So  Mr.  Whipple  was  left  alone.  All  that 
night  cannon  were  roaring,  and  we  fully  expected  that  the 
city  would  fall  before  morning.  After  breakfast  on  Satur- 
day, the  English  consul  and  Joe  thought  they  would  try 
to  get  through  the  lines,  so  they  started  at  a  time  when 
there  was  very  little  firing,  taking  with  them  the  consul's 
servants  and  two  or  three  of  the  natives.  As  you  approach 
the  Seir  gate  of  the  city,  the  one  nearest  us,  you  have  to 
pass  through  a  wide  avenue,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
long,  shut  in  on  both  sides  by  walls.  They  approached  the 
gate,  then  sent  one  of  the  consul's  servants  ahead  to  speak 
to  the  captain  of  the  cannon,  and  tell  him  that  they  wished 
to  pass  in  to  see  the  Governor.  This  servant  says  he  gave 
his  message,  and  that  one  of  the  Khans  who  stood  by  said, 


88  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

"  Fire  first  on  the  consul's  servant,  then  on  the  gentlemen." 
The  servant  turned  his  horse  and  ran,  motioned  to  the  gen- 
tlemen to  do  the  same,  and  away  they  all  ran  down  that 
long  avenue,  lying  flat  to  their  horses,  followed  by  showers 
of  bullets  which  whizzed  by  them.  For  once  Lollard's  fast 
running  was  of  service.  Even  after  they  turned  and  left 
the  avenue,  bullets  followed  them,  but  not  one  of  them  was 
injured.  It  was  a  narrow  escape. 

OCTOBER  26th. — We  have  at  last  heard  from  Mr.  Whipple. 
On  Sunday  he  was  seen  walking  on  the  roof  by  the  Seir 
people,  who  were  scanning  our  city  premises  with  the  tele- 
scope. Yesterday  a  little  Nestorian  boy,  not  more  than 
thirteen  years  old,  offered  to  go  into  the  city.  To-day  the 
brave  little  fellow  returned  with  a  letter  from  Mr.  Whipple. 
The  Kurds  had  taken  the  boy's  trousers  and  his  hat,  and 
he  had  been  shot  at.  A  little  girl  who  spoke  Kurdish,  went 
with  him  through  the  lines,  he  says.  Mr.  Whipple  is  alive 
and  well,  but  tired  from  so  much  anxiety.  The  yard  there 
is  full  of  native  Christians.  Water  is  cut  off  from  the  city, 
and  the  people  cannot  hold  out  much  longer  with  their  few 
wells.  Yesterday  and  to-day  the  Kurds  have  been  on  the 
move,  no  fighting.  The  Sheikh  finds  he  cannot  take  the  city 
in  an  hour;  the  Persians  have  made  a  brave  defence.  Every 
night  hundreds  of  the  Kurds  leave  the  fight  and  go  out 
into  the  villages  for  plunder.  Several  villages  they  have 
stripped  entirely  and  burned  the  houses.  This  country  will 
be  utterly  ruined.  The  poor  people  will  have  no  homes,  no 
food;  another  famine  is  certain,  and  a  much  more  fearful 
one  than  that  of  last  winter.  We  petition  the  Sheikh  to  keep 
his  men  from  despoiling  the  country,  but  they  must  eat, 
and  I  suppose  he  cannot  control  them  all  very  well.  He  has 
taken  away  some  of  the  plunder  from  them,  and  sent  it 
to  our  yards  for  safekeeping.  We  don't  know  what  he  is 
going  to  do;  he  is  evidently  discouraged,  and  his  men  are 
getting  rebellious.  We  hear  this  morning  that  he  had  given 
them  leave  to  strip  every  village  between  here  and  the  Lake. 
Now  we  hear  that  he  has  reinforcements  coming,  and  now 
that  12,000  Persian  troops  are  on  the  way  to  drive  him  out. 
If  they  come  too,  they  will  completely  finish  the  country. 
I  don't  believe  that  we  ourselves  could  find  enough  to  eat 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  89 

next  winter.  The  prospect  is  a  very  dark  one.  Mr.  Whipple 
writes  also  that  Mussulmans  in  the  city  are  talking  hard 
against  us,  saying  that  we  are  inciting  the  Sheikh  to  all 
this,  that  they  will  kill  us  all,  and  sack  this  garden  and  Seir. 
The  Governor,  however,  we  are  sure  has  no  such  feeling 
toward  us.  He  was  very  angry  when  he  heard  the  consul 
and  Joe  had  been  fired  upon.  Such  threats  from  the  Mus- 
sulmans make  our  breath  come  more  quickly;  it  is  not 
pleasant  to  think  what  might  happen,  but  we  know  that  the 
Lord  is  on  our  side,  therefore  will  we  not  fear. 

OCTOBER  27th. — Last  night  the  Kurdish  army  withdrew 
from  about  the  city  and  camped  quite  near  us.  Some  men 
from  the  camp  this  morning  say  the  Sheikh  has  issued  a 
proclamation  that  his  army  must  enter  the  city  to-day,  or 
every  man  die  in  the  attempt.  If  he  does  enter,  I  fear  there 
will  be  a  fearful  massacre,  for  the  Kurds  are  so  enraged 
that  the  city  has  withstood  them  so  long,  that  I  do  not 
believe  the  Sheikh  could  control  them,  even  if  he  wished  to. 
Turkish  troops  are  said  to  have  arrived  on  the  borders,  with 
orders  from  the  Sultan  for  the  Sheikh  to  retire  and  not 
invade  Persia.  The  Sheikh,  you  know,  is  nominally  a  sub- 
ject of  Turkey;  that  is,  he  pays  tribute  to  the  Sultan. 

If  Turkey  comes  upon  the  scenes,  and  Russia  thinks  it 
necessary  to  put  in  a  finger  also,  I  really  think  we  will  be 
obliged  to  leave;  we  cannot  live  in  the  midst  of  such  a 
commotion. 

EVENING,  October  27th. — Nothing  of  note  has  taken  place 
to-day.  A  conference  of  Kurdish  and  Persian  chiefs  was 
arranged  for  this  afternoon;  the  consul  and  the  gentlemen 
were  invited  to  be  present,  but  the  Persians  failed  to  appear. 

OCTOBER  28th. — The  consul  starts  now  in  a  few  moments. 
Nothing  was  done  last  night,  though  the  Persians  did  an 
immense  amount  of  yelling.  We  think  the  Kurds  know  that 
they  cannot  take  the  city,  and  will  simply  sit  here  until  they 
starve  it  out  and  spoil  the  whole  surrounding  country.  It 
may  be  some  time  before  you  hear  from  me  again,  but  I  beg 
of  you  not  to  be  troubled;  the  Lord  will  take  care  of  us,  and 
even  should  He  call  on  us  to  suffer,  what  better  could  you 
ask  for  us  than  that  we  be  doing  His  will. 


90  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

OCTOBER  29th. — I  will  continue  my  journal  letter,  though 
it  may  be  some  time  before  I  hare  a  chance  to  send  it. 
Miss  Van  Duzee  and  I  have  just  been  walking  on  the  roof. 
We  saw  many  Kurds  going  by  with  loaded  horses,  plunder 
from  the  villages.  Many  villages  have  been  entirely  de- 
stroyed, the  people  stripped  of  clothing,  all  bedding  and 
eatables  taken,  even  the  doors  and  window  frames  and  rafters 
for  firewood.  No  new  attack  has  been  made  on  the  city. 

OCTOBER  31st. — Our  beautful  weather  still  continues.  We 
are  daily  expecting  cold  fall  rains,  which  would  be  very 
hard  for  all  the  people  in  this  yard.  Those  in  our  new  house 
have  neither  doors  nor  windows,  and  the  schoolboys  would 
be  cold  and  damp  in  the  hospital  cellars.  The  boys  take 
turns  in  guarding  the  castle  at  night.  Two  or  three  are  in 
the  corner  towers,  some  over  the  gate,  and  two  walk  con- 
stantly round  and  round  the  walls.  Most  of  the  people 
brought  no  food  with  them,  and  have  to  be  fed  from  the 
school  stores.  An  old  woman  died  in  the  yards  yesterday, 
and  this  morning  a  baby. 

The  Kurds  still  sit  in  the  camp  near  us.  They  occa- 
sionally fire  on  the  city  at  night,  and  plunder  the  villages. 
The  Kurdish  army  is  composed  of  many  tribes  which  have 
blood  feuds  between  them,  and  now  that  the  Sheikh  is  not  suc- 
cessful, there  is  anarchy  in  the  camp.  The  city  has  received 
some  reinforcements,  and  can  hold  out.  The  city  authori- 
ties seem  very  friendly.  The  Governor  expressed  himself  as 
very  angry  that  the  gentlemen  had  been  fired  on.  We  have 
been  placed  in  a  difficult  position.  We  have  had  to  negotiate 
with  the  Sheikh  for  our  own  safety,  and  besides  we  had  no 
quarrel  with  him,  but  of  course  the  Persians  could  easily 
construe  it  into  meaning  that  we  were  in  league  with  him 
against  them. 

NOVEMBER  1st. — Good  news!  This  morning  as  we  sat 
down  to  breakfast  we  saw  the  whole  Kurdish  army  going 
away.  Large  companies  of  Kurds  are  going  directly  home 
over  the  mountains,  and  it  is  thought  the  Sheikh  is  with 
them.  A  letter  came  from  Mr.  Whipple  this  morning.  He 
comes  out  to  dine  with  us  to-day.  Light  is  breaking  in  all 
directions,  and  we  hope  our  day  of  trouble  is  nearly  over. 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  91 

Last  erening  our  little  circle  had  such  a  good  meeting.  We 
looked  up  all  the  "  Fear  nots  "  in  the  Bible.  It  was  aston- 
ishing how  many  of  the  verses  fitted  our  situation.  Never 
before  could  I  appreciate  David's  prayers  against  his  enemies. 
When  once  surrounded  by  hordes  of  wild,  wicked,  dangerous 
men  as  we  have  been,  you  would  lose  all  scruples  at  praying 
to  have  them  "  cut  off."  After  reading  all  these  overwhelm- 
ing assurances  of  God's  care  for  His  people,  we  all  felt 
greatly  strengthened,  and  wondered  that  we  had  been  fearful. 
I  believe  it  takes  a  lifetime  of  varied  experiences  to  make 
the  different  promises  of  the  Bible  seem  real  and  of  value  to 
us.  The  Psalms  seem  like  a  new  book  to  me. 

NOVEMBER  4th. — The  Kurds  have  left  us.  They  are  now 
some  fifteen  miles  distant.  Persian  reinforcements  have 
arrived  at  the  city  and  will  now  go  out  against  the  Kurds. 
Ill  feeling  against  us  in  the  city  is  subsiding.  The  authori- 
ties are  all  exceedingly  friendly.  Thus  the  Lord  gives  us 
favour  both  with  Kurds  and  Persians,  and  we  have  been  safe 
in  the  midst  of  all  this  tumult.  Some  of  our  number  have 
returned  to  the  city.  People  in  the  yard  are  leaving,  and  we 
are  not  so  crowded. 

NOVEMBER  5th. — Taimur  Pasha,  "  the  coming  man,"  as  Mr. 
Abbott  used  to  call  him,  arrived  a  few  days  ago,  and  will 
probably  go  against  the  Kurds  in  a  day  or  so.  We  sincerely 
hope  so,  for  his  soldiers  are  worse  than  the  Kurds;  they  are 
plundering  villages  and  doing  dreadful  things.  We  hear  on 
pretty  good  authority  that  the  Turks  have  advanced  into  the 
Sheikh's  country  and  taken  possession  of  his  capital,  Nayris. 
If  this  is  so  the  poor  Sheikh  will  be  hard  pressed.  The 
people  from  this  yard  are  gradually  departing,  and  we 
breathe  more  freely.  Men  have  resumed  work  on  our  house, 
and  a  month  from  now  we  hope  to  be  in  it. 


The  coming  of  Taimur  Pasha,  or  Agha,  head  of  the 
powerful  Khans  of  the  Maku  district  near  Mt.  Ararat, 
with  the  Persian  troops  was  no  blessing.  On  Novem- 
ber 8th,  Dr.  Cochran  wrote  briefly : — 


92  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Just  by  chance,  on  a  two  minutes'  notice,  we  can  send  a 
line.  The  sky  is  still  very  dark,  but  the  Lord,  who  has  cared 
for  us  so  far,  will  continue  to,  I  have  no  doubt.  The  Kurds 
are  still  within  three  hours  of  us,  daily  and  nightly  plunder- 
ing villages  and  killing  people.  The  Persian  forces,  now 
8,000  to  10,000  strong,  are  doing  the  country  more  damage 
than  the  Kurds.  We  ourselves  will  be  safe  from  any  violence, 
I  have  no  doubt,  but  the  poor  Christians  about  us  are  suffer- 
ing terribly. 

The  political  situation  was  becoming  very  confused 
and  embarrassing.  The  missionaries,  of  course,  de- 
sired to  be  left  entirely  free  and  unentangled,  but  that 
was  no  easy  matter.  They  properly  wished  to  hold 
the  friendship  of  the  Sheikh,  and  as  properly  to  be 
loyal  to  the  best  interests  of  the  government.  Above 
all,  they  wished  to  see  the  gospel  spread  unhindered 
among  the  people  and  to  prevent  injustice  to  the  inno- 
cent. The  letters  show  how  delicate  their  situation 
was  and  how  their  enemies  took  advantage  of  the  con- 
ditions to  increase  their  difficulties.  Mr.  Labaree, 
Sr.,  wrote: 

NOVEMBER  4th,  1880. — You  have  been  informed  of  the 
English  consul's  attempt  to  visit  the  city  to  bring  about 
terms  of  peace,  urging  Dr.  Cochran  to  go  with  him,  and 
how  the  Persians  outrageously  fired  on  them.  It  is  wonder- 
ful, all  but  miraculous,  that  they  escaped  with  their  lives 
from  the  terrible  volley  of  rifle  and  musket  shots  showered 
upon  them.  God  alone  preserved  them.  Most  surprising 
has  been  His  protection  all  through  the  perils  that  have 
befallen  us.  To-day  I  was  at  the  city  for  the  first  time, 
and  with  Dr.  Cochran  received  a  call  from  the  man  who  has 
talked  most  violently  against  us,  one  whom  we  considered  as 
good  a  friend  as  we  had  in  the  city  until  a  few  months  ago. 
He  is  much  alarmed  to  find  himself  known  as  held  respon- 
sible for  firing  on  the  consul's  party,  and  is  very  humble. 
We  called  on  "the  Governor,  who  is  also  the  general  of  the 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  93 

army,  congratulating  him  on  his  able  and  successful  defence 
amid  most  discouraging  circumstances.  He  is  not  an  in- 
triguer like  his  brother-in-law  referred  to  above,  and  has 
acted,  we  think,  a  straightforward  course  towards  us  at  this 
time.  They  now  affirm  that  Dr.  Cochran  was  the  means  of 
saving  the  city  since,  at  the  urgent  request  of  the  deputy 
governor  and  the  consul,  Dr.  Cochran  made  a  visit  to  the 
Sheikh  and  obtained  delay  of  twenty-four  hours  before  the 
attack  on  the  city.  During  that  time  the  general  brought 
his  army  into  the  city,  and  got  it  into  a  defensible  condition. 
Had  the  Sheikh  attacked  beforehand,  it  is  probable  he  would 
have  captured  the  town  at  a  stroke.  And  yet  when  we  saw 
the  Sheikh  afterwards,  he  did  not  seem  to  hold  the  doctor 
responsible,  but  charged  the  Persians  with  duplicity.  We 
have  been  thrown  into  a  very  embarrassing  position.  As  we 
look  back  upon  the  various  steps  in  the  progress  of  events 
we  do  not  see  how  we  could  have  done  much  different  from 
what  we  did.  Our  friendship  with  the  Sheikh  has  been  the 
means  of  saving  the  Christian  population  from  the  terrible 
pillaging  perpetrated  on  the  Mussulmans;  and  yet  two  or 
three  Christian  villages  have  been  most  thoroughly  despoiled 
and  a  few  of  their  inhabitants  killed.  The  condition  of  those 
populations  is  pitiable,  and  their  sufferings  the  coming 
winter  will  be  great.  One  of  our  porters  has  lost  nearly 
everything  of  his  effects.  Another  was  robbed  and  mur- 
dered. These  exceptions  are  not  strange.  Only  the  Sheikh's 
stern  command  to  his  generals  to  treat  us  and  the  Christians 
as  his  own  family  prevented  the  exceptions  becoming  the 
rule. 

The  Sheikh  is,  we  hear,  still  on  the  plain  of  Urumia, 
strongly  entrenched,  but  greatly  crippled  by  deserters  and 
the  loss  of  his  men  at  the  hands  of  the  recently  arrived 
Persian  force.  His  son,  who  was  making  such  a  successful 
campaign  at  the  South,  has  been  driven  back.  It  is  re- 
ported to-day  that  the  Turkish  and  Persian  governments 
have  made  a  new  alliance  for  the  entire  destruction  of  this 
troublesome  chief.  If  while  about  it  they  would  make 
thorough  work  with  the  various  Kurdish  tribes  that  infest 
the  border  both  kingdoms  would  be  rid  of  some  terrible 
pests. 

Whatever  anxiety  you  may  have  felt  for  us  from  previous 


94       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

letters,  I  think  you  may  feel  at  ease  now.  The  men  who 
have  imagined  mischief  against  us  will  be  overthrown  of 
the  Lord.  We  have  not  at  any  time  doubted  that  He  will 
overrule  all  for  good.  And  now  that  we  have  seen  such 
marked  deliverances  we  are  encouraged  to  trust  Him  still 
more.  We  are,  however,  sorely  troubled  at  the  prospects 
of  continued  famine.  The  cost  of  provisions  is  much  higher 
now  than  it  was  a  year  ago  at  this  time,  and  the  invaders 
have  removed  an  immense  quantity  of  grain.  We  ask  your 
prayers  and  sympathies  in  these  peculiarly  trying  circum- 
stances. 

Mrs.  Cochran  wrote: 

NOVEMBER  8th. — Joe  and  I  spent  the  Sabbath  at  Seir. 
It  seemed  so  pleasant  to  go  outside  these  walls  and  ride  a 
little.  As  we  came  down  this  morning  the  country  was 
full  of  the  smoke  of  burning  villages.  The  Kurds  are 
burning  and  plundering  on  the  plain  beyond  us,  and  in  the 
villages  about  the  city  the  Persian  soldiers  are  doing  more 
mischief  than  the  Kurds  did.  The  Governor  of  the  city 
and  the  General,  who  has  come  to  reinforce  him,  are  jealous 
of  each  other,  and  are  quarrelling.  The  country  is  in  a 
dreadful  state  of  confusion  and  terror.  The  city  is  being 
fortified  daily,  and  it  is  difficult  to  pass  back  and  forth. 
The  gates  are  closed  and  cannon  in  the  way.  There  was  a 
report  a  few  days  ago  that  the  chief  men  of  the  city  were 
going  to  send  a  petition  to  the  Shah  to  have  us  removed 
from  the  country  as  we  have  been  the  means  of  inducing 
the  Sheikh  to  come  down  upon  TJrumia.  But  almost  at 
the  same  time  the  Governor  requests  a  letter  from  us  to  the 
Shah,  stating  that  he  had  defended  the  city  valiantly,  and 
was  worthy  of  all  praise,  etc.,  etc.  Also  when  Joe  was  in 
Taimur  Pasha's  camp  the  other  day,  those  who  stood  by  told 
the  General  that  Joseph  had  saved  the  city  by  inducing 
the  Sheikh  to  wait  one  day  instead  of  coming  down  when 
he  intended.  May  the  Lord  deliver  us  alike  from  their 
flattery  and  their  slander. 

NOVEMBER  10th. — These  wicked,  wicked  men  are  making  a 
desert  of  this  beautiful  plain.  Persian  soldiers  are  plunder- 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  95 

ing  some  of  the  Christian  villages  and  behaving  so  badly  that 
the  inhabitants  are  fleeing  to  the  city.  To-day  bands  of 
Kurds  have  burned  three  villages  near  us.  Last  night  there 
was  fighting,  and  the  Kurds  were  driven  back.  Such  a 
strange  war!  The  armies  sit  and  look  at  each  other,  and 
plunder  and  burn  all  the  villages  about  them. 

NOVEMBER  12th. — It's  worse  than  trying  to  serve  both 
God  and  Mammon,  this  endeavouring  to  keep  on  good  terms 
with  both  Persians  and  Kurds.  To-day  the  Governor  sent  to 
the  gentlemen,  asking  if  they  would  give  something  towards 
repairing  the  city  walls.  Now,  if  the  Sheikh  should  learn 
that  we  gave  25  tomans  to  protect  the  city  against  him  he 
might  come  down  in  anger  and  destroy  us.  The  story  would, 
of  course,  reach  him  much  enlarged.  It  would  be  250 
tomans  at  least.  On  the  other  hand,  this  request  seems  to 
be  put  upon  us  by  the  Governor  as  a  sort  of  test  whether 
we  are  friendly  to  him  or  not.  Should  we  refuse  it  might 
enrage  the  Persians  against  us.  But  for  my  part  I  don't 
believe  so  much  in  considering  consequences.  The  question 
is,  what  ought  we  to  do  as  neutral  parties?  That  decided  us 
to  go  ahead  trusting  in  God  to  protect  us. 

NOVEMBER  28th. — Things  go  on  about  as  usual.  The  Seir 
gate  of  the  city  is  open,  and  people  come  and  go,  only  we 
have  no  bazaar  yet,  for  Taimur  Pasha's  men  stole  and  plun- 
dered so  that  the  shopkeepers  removed  all  their  goods  to  their 
homes.  This  army  is  composed  of  bad,  lawless  men  from 
many  countries,  outlaws  many  of  them,  and  deserters.  They 
have  gone  away  at  last  after  the  Kurds. 

NOVEMBER  29th. — The  war  may  be  fairly  considered  as 
over.  Taimur  Pasha  has  gone  up  into  the  districts  behind 
the  Seir  Mountains,  and  found  that  the  Kurds  have  fled, 
taking  everything  with  them,  and  burning  their  villages. 
The  Sipeh  Salar,  or  Prime  Minister,  is  to  arrive  to-morrow. 
He  is  said  to  have  an  army  with  him  composed  of  men 
compared  with  whom  Taimur  Pasha's  men,  who  have  been 
pillaging  and  burning  all  about  here,  are  angels. 

The  share  of  care  and  responsibility  which  fell  upon 
Dr.  Cochran  in  these  troublesome  times  was  a  heavy 


96  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

burden  for  a  young  man  to  bear.  The  strain  was  made 
far  heavier  for  all  by  the  illness  and  death  of  little 
Harry  Shedd  in  the  midst  of  the  siege,  and  in  the 
war  there  were  enough  sights  of  horror  for  a  lifetime. 
His  sister,  whom  he  took  to  Van  on  her  way  to  America 
just  before  the  Sheikh  came  down,  writes: 

Poor  Joe,  he  saw  enough  horrors  to  turn  his  hair  grey 
at  this  time.  I  remember  his  telling  how  once  he  went  to 
the  Sheikh,  whose  army  was  encamped  outside  the  city  on 
the  mountain  slopes,  and  complained  to  him  that  in  spite  of 
the  promise  given  in  one  village,  some  Christians  had  been 
robbed.  Unfortunately,  as  Joe  afterwards  felt,  he  was  able 
to  indicate  the  persons  who  had  committed  the  deed.  We 
were  riding  over  the  place  when  Joe  told  me  the  story,  and 
he  showed  me  where  the  camp  was,  and  where,  a  few  days 
later,  the  Sheikh  sent  for  him,  and  to  his  horror,  he  saw 
crucified  those  men,  as  the  Sheikh  said,  "  as  an  example 
to  his  men  of  what  would  happen  to  any  one  who  touched 
the  doctor's  people."  The  poor  men  were  quite  dead,  but  Joe 
said  he  was  so  sick  he  could  hardly  sit  his  horse  as  the 
Sheikh  proudly  showed  him  the  ghastly  proof  of  his  friend- 
ship. When  the  war  broke  out,  Joe  was  in  the  plain  and 
mother  was  up  at  Seir,  with  the  Kurds  between  them. 
Mother  was  in  the  old  "  Castle,"  and  when  the  troubles 
began  all  the  villagers  near  by  came  with  their  cattle  and 
goods  and  little  ones,  and  she  took  them  in  till  literally  every 
spot,  yards,  rooms,  and  roofs  was  filled.  One  night  a  band 
of  horsemen  came  to  the  gate,  and  thundering  on  it,  shouted 
out  to  know  if  the  Hakim  Sahib's  mother  was  there.  The 
poor  Nestorians  inside  thought  their  last  day  had  come, 
but  when  they  heard  those  two  words,  words  that  have 
brought  comfort,  relief,  and  hope  to  how  many !  "  Hakim 
Sahib !  "  It  seems  to  me  now  as  I  write  it  that  I  could  never 
bear  to  hear  the  name  given  to  any  one  else,  so  much  a  part 
of  the  man  was  it,  and  so  much  it  meant  when  it  meant 
that  man.  Well,  the  Kurds  went  on  to  say,  "  Tell  the  great 
lady  that  the  Sheikh  says  she  is  to  sleep  peacefully,  and 
that  nothing  shall  happen  to  her  or  to  her  people  for  her 
son's  sake."  A  few  days  after,  as  I  remember,  the  Sheikh 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  97 

sent  an  escort  to  take  mother  through  his  lines  to  the  col- 
lege where  Joe  was. 

Dr.  Cochran's  own  letters  and  later  references  to  the 
invasion  and  his  part  in  diminishing  the  horrors  are 
characteristically  restrained  and  modest. 

When  the  Kurds  were  gone  many  of  the  people  but 
not  all  soon  forgot  Dr.  Cochran's  services.  There  came, 
as  already  indicated,  rumours  of  hostile  influences  at 
work  against  the  missionaries.  For  a  time  they  hardly 
knew  what  the  coming  of  the  Sipeh  Salar,  the  Sadr 
Azam  or  Prime  Minister,  with  his  army  might  involve. 
Under  date  of  January  3rd,  1881,  Dr.  Shedd  wrote : 

The  moon  just  past  was  the  Moslem  month  of  Muharram. 
The  first  ten  days  of  this  month  are  devoted  to  the  Persian 
Passion  Play,  the  tragedy  of  Hussein.  It  is  the  fanatical 
season  of  the  Shiahs.  It  was  inevitable  in  such  a  war  of 
religious  sects  that  the  worst  passions  should  be  roused. 
Shiahs  were  killing  Sunnees,  and  Sunnees,  Shiahs,  as  if 
either  party  were  wild  beasts.  The  Sunnees  were  all  driven 
out  of  the  country  or  killed,  except  a  few  who  changed  their 
form  of  faith.  Then  the  fear  was  that  the  Shiahs  would 
turn  upon  the  Christians.  There  were  sullen,  ugly  looks,  and 
muttered  threats  and  suspicions  that  our  Mission .  and  the 
Christians  generally,  favoured  the  Kurds.  These  rumours, 
when  traced  to  their  sources,  so  far  as  we  could  learn, 
invariably  started  from  the  Papal  monks  and  their  Persian 
Mirza,  or  from  certain  other  enemies.  Quite  a  panic  arose 
among  the  Christians.  I  do  not  think  there  was  at  any  time 
real  danger.  But  the  fickle  populace  of  an  Oriental  city 
of  old  cried  "  Hosanna  "  one  week  and  "  Crucify  "  the  next. 
And  so  here,  a  small  occasion,  a  bold  man  to  lead,  might 
have  been  the  spark  to  ignite  the  inflammable  passions  into 
an  explosion  of  bloody  fanaticism.  Among  the  stories  that 
reached  us  was  this :  A  company  of  the  more  zealous 
Moslems  proposed  to  the  Sheikh  ul  Islam  that  they  celebrate 
the  Muharram  by  a  massacre  of  the  missionaries  and  Chris- 
tians. The  Sheikh  ul  Islam  replied  that  he  had  three  things 


98       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

to  say  before  they  went  further.  "(1)  The  missionaries  have 
been  the  means  of  saving  thousands  of  Moslems  from  death 
by  famine.  (2)  They  have  saved  the  city  from  pillage  and 
massacre  by  Dr.  Cochran's  intercession  with  the  Sheikh  to 
grant  one  day  of  grace.  That  day's  delay  saved  us.  (3)  If 
you  kill  such  men  you  must  consider  the  result.  I,  for  my 
part,  would  fear  that  it  betokened  the  end  of  Islam  or  of 
Persian  rule,  or  of  both  in  this  region."  The  Muharram 
passed,  and  the  Moslems  showed  less  zeal  than  usual,  owing 
in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  popular  leaders  who  stir  up  the 
populace  to  enthusiam  can  only  be  had  for  large  sums  of 
money,  and  this  article  was  very  scarce.  So  many  have  died 
or  are  sick,  or  impoverished,  that  it  is  not  strange  if  little 
interest  was  felt.  But  all  breathed  more  freely  when  it  was 
over.  The  day  following,  the  Sipeh  Salar,  or  Commander- 
in-Chief,  and  his  army  arrived.  The  army  numbers  about 
20,000.  It  has  four  specially  good  regiments,  equipped  in 
the  best  style  of  improved  arms,  with  very  fine  artillery,  and 
officered  by  Austrians.  One  of  these  officers,  the  Captain 
of  Artillery,  is  a  Hungarian  Protestant  who  has  shown  him- 
self very  kind  and  friendly  to  the  missionaries.  The  Sipeh 
Salar  is  the  foremost  man  in  Persia  in  talent  and  executive 
ability.  He  was  ambassador  for  many  years  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  has  visited  the  European  capital,  speaks  French, 
and  is  a  civilized  gentleman.  He  was  the  vizier  in  office 
last  winter  when  the  intolerant  regulations  were  executed 
at  the  capital.  The  Papal  monks  had  written  so  many 
slanders  about  us  to  the  French  consul  in  Tabriz,  and  had 
circulated  so  many  rumours  here  that  we  feared  the  Sipeh 
Salar  might  be  prejudiced,  and  use  coercive  measures  against 
our  work. 

Dr.  Cochran,  in  his  paper  at  the  30th  anniversary 
of  Miss  Cyrene  Van  Duzee's  entrance  on  missionary 
work,  told  of  the  happy  issue  which  came  out  of  these 
troubles : 

After  the  invasion  of  the  city,  with  its  terror  by  night  and 
its  destruction  which  wasted  by  noonday,  was  over,  and  the 
Kurds  had  withdrawn,  a  large  Persian  army  had  come  from 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  99 

Teheran,  commanded  in  part  by  the  Prime  Minister.  Great 
as  the  daily  danger  was  from  the  lawless  Kurds,  the  bitter 
enmity  of  the  Persians,  who  were  only  too  ready  to  lay  the 
blame  of  their  misfortunes  on  the  Christians,  was  even  more 
to  be  dreaded.  The  wildest  stories  were  circulated  involving 
us,  and  making  us  out  to  be  responsible  for  the  coming  of 
the  Kurds,  especially  since  none  of  the  Christians  suffered, 
and  not  even  we,  who  had  been  for  the  most  part  within 
the  invaders'  lines.  Many  of  our  best  friends  among  the 
Moslems  believed  these  reports.  The  ears  of  the  Sadr 
Azam  had  been  filled  with  these  reports.  At  this  juncture, 
Clement  (Dr.  Cochran's  oldest  child)  was  the  means  of  dis- 
covering a  friend  in  need,  and  none  too  soon.  While  our 
hostler  was  taking  the  child  out  to  ride,  General  Wagner, 
now  known  to  us  all,  came  across  him,  and  asked  if  he  were 
not  a  European  child,  and  told  the  servant  that  he  wished 
to  meet  us  if  we  were  foreigners.  He  was  the  only  Protes- 
tant officer  among  the  European  drill  masters  with  the  army, 
and  as  soon  as  we  met  him  he  used  all  his  influence  in  setting 
aright  the  wrong  impressions  which  were  being  made  upon 
the  officers  connected  with  this  new  army.  He  also  arranged 
for  a  call  upon  the  Prime  Minister,  and  when  the  latter, 
with  several  hundred  horsemen  as  his  escort,  marched  around 
our  college  walls  to  examine  the  fort  ( !)  erected  by  us,  where 
we  had  given  such  efficient  aid  to  the  attacking  army, 
General  Wagner  was  along,  and  did  all  he  could  to  correct 
the  erroneous  impression  which  had  been  received. 

The  day  that  the  Prime  Minister  was  to  take  his  depart- 
ure, we  called  upon  him  in  a  body.  Nearly  every  one  of 
note  in  town  was  in  attendance  upon  him.  We  expected  a 
very  cool  reception.  Instead,  he  arose  before  all  those  who 
were  condemning  us,  and  who  daily  were  insulting  us,  and 
shook  hands.  Soon  he  produced  a  telegram  from  the  Shah, 
which  he  said  had  just  been  received,  which  read  about  as 
follows :  "  His  Imperial  Majesty,  Center  of  the  Universe, 
to  which  all  men  make  obeisance,  the  Shah  in  Shah,  may  his 
soul  ever  live,  commands  me  to  instruct  you  to  look  after 
the  welfare  of  the  American  missionaries  in  Urumia,  and  to 
put  them  in  charge  of  the  Governor,  with  special  directions 
that  he  sees  that  they  enjoy  every  privilege  and  protection. 
Signed,  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs."  As  the  Sadr  Azam 


100  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

read  this  telegram  in  a  loud  voice  and  with  the  solemnity 
and  deference  due  to  a  command  from  his  sovereign,  every 
one  gave  closest  attention.  Then,  turning  to  the  Ikbale 
Dowleh,  who  alone  of  all  those  present  but  ourselves,  was 
given  a  seat,  and  he  at  some  distance  from  the  Sadr  Azam, 
said,  "You  hear  this  command  of  the  Shah.  If  anything 
befalls  these  gentlemen,  I  shall  require  every  hair  of  their 
heads  of  you."  God  in  His  wisdom  and  mercy  had  sent 
this  message  at  exactly  the  right  moment.  Had  this  tele- 
gram arrived  an  hour  later,  when  the  Sadr  Azam  had  left, 
the  effect  would  have  been  very  different.  It  seems  that 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Shedd's  letters,  giving  an  account  of  the  pre- 
carious condition  in  which  our  Mission  stood  at  the  begin- 
ning of  hostilities,  had  reached  Mrs.  Shedd's  brother,  General 
Rufus  Dawes,  who  then  was  a  member  of  Congress.  Through 
his  interest  and  instrumentality,  the  Secretary  of  State 
telegraphed  the  United  States  Minister  in  London,  directing 
him  to  lay  the  facts  before  the  British  government,  and 
request  that  they  instruct  their  ambassador  at  Teheran  to 
see  the  Shah  about  the  matter. 

The  troubles  of  a  Christian  Mission  in  a  Mohamme- 
dan land  do  not  end  in  such  a  summary  way,  however. 
New  trouble  was  already  brewing,  and  at  the  end  of 
Dr.  Cochran's  life,  twenty-five  years  later,  the  condi- 
tions were  as  painful  and  disturbing  as  in  1880.  These 
lead  us  away,  however,  from  the  picturesque  old  Sheikh 
whose  ambitions  were  collapsing.  He  had  withdrawn 
from  Urumia,  but  it  was  feared  that  he  would  renew 
his  raids  in  the  spring.  Negotiations  were  entered  into 
between  Persia  and  Turkey,  and  the  latter  disavowed 
all  responsibility  for  the  Sheikh's  movements,  ex- 
pressed regret  to  the  Shah  for  what  had  happened,  and 
summoned  the  Sheikh  to  Constantinople.  He  declined 
to  go  at  first,  but  when  shut  in  on  both  sides  by  Turk- 
ish and  Persian  troops  he  decided  to  accept  the  Sultan's 
invitation,  and  went  off  to  Constantinople  under  a 
large  escort,  which  was  really  a  guard  to  prevent  his 


THE  KURDISH  INVASION  101 

escape.  Many  supposed  that  he  would  be  sent  back  as 
Governor-General  of  Kurdistan.  On  reaching  Constan- 
tinople he  was  received  in  great  state  and  nobly  treated. 
But  he  soon  discovered  that  his  palace  was  a  prison. 
He  escaped  from  Constantinople  and  returned  home, 
but  dissension  among  the  Kurds  showed  him  the  hope- 
lessness of  further  struggle,  and  he  surrendered  to  the 
Turks,  was  sent  to  Mecca,  and  died  there  in  October, 
1883.  He  never  lost  his  friendship  for  Dr.  Cochran. 
Mrs.  Cochran  wrote  on  September  14,  1882: — 

I  wrote  you,  did  I  not,  that  the  Sheikh  has  run  away  from 
Constantinople.  He  has  now  surrendered  to  Turkey  on  the 
condition  made  by  the  Sultan  that  he  and  his  family  be  sent 
to  Medina.  Poor  old  Sheikh!  I'm  sorry  for  him  and  for 
this  end  to  his  ambitious  dreams.  I  have  a  great  respect 
for  the  man,  and  yet  I  am  rather  glad  that  he  is  not  to  be 
here  to  stir  up  any  more  wars.  Soon  after  his  escape  and 
return  to  Kurdistan,  he  sent  a  letter  to  Joe,  asking  what  the 
attitude  of  both  Turkey  and  Persia  was  towards  him,  and 
for  news  of  the  world  in  general.  He  seems  to  consider 
Joe  his  firm  friend.  Now  it  is  rather  a  dangerous  thing 
to  be  receiving  letters  from  Persia's  enemy  and  more  so  to 
be  giving  him  information,  so  Joe  simply  told  the  messen- 
ger to  look  about  and  inquire  among  the  people  of  the 
country;  they  knew  as  much  as  he  on  the  subject. 

It  is  a  great  testimony  to  the  sincerity  and  tact  of 
the  young  physician  that  he  won  and  held  until  the 
end  the  confidence  and  regard  alike  of  the  Kurd  who 
would  be  king  and  of  the  Persian  officials  who  were 
arrayed  against  him. 

It  was  as  a  result  of  this  episode  and  through  the 
efforts  of  Mr.  Dawes  that  the  American  legation  was 
established  in  Teheran. 


VIII 
OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS 

TEE  end  of  the  year  1880  saw  the  difficulties  origi- 
nating in  misunderstanding  and  malice  in  Uru- 
mia  for  the  time  at  least  suppressed.  But  with 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1881  new  difficulties  arose 
from  a  different  quarter.  A  minister  of  foreign  affairs 
had  come  into  office  in  Teheran  who,  a  quarter  of  a 
century  before,  while  holding  the  same  office,  had  en- 
deavoured to  suppress  the  Christian  movement.  The 
British  Consul-General  in  Tabriz  had  always  had 
charge  of  the  interests  of  American  missionaries  in 
northwestern  Persia,  and  had  cared  for  them  with 
notable  fidelity  and  friendliness.  The  Consul-General 
at  this  time  was  Mr.  William  G.  Abbott.  In  January 
he  wrote  to  the  missionaries  at  Tabriz  and  Urumia : — 

I  have  received  an  official  communication  from  the  For- 
eign Office  Agent,  informing  me  that  complaints  have  been 
made  to  the  Vali  Ahd  that  you  are  actively  engaged  in 
preaching  and  teaching  amongst  Mussulmans  and  endeavour- 
ing to  induce  them  to  renounce  Islamism;  and  that  such 
proceedings  are  calculated  to  produce  serious  disturbances 
in  this  country.  His  Royal  Highness  has  therefore  in- 
structed the  Agent  to  request  me  to  give  you  a  friendly  warn- 
ing on  this  subject,  and  to  advise  you  to  desist  altogether 
from  teaching  or  preaching  to  Mussulmans  amongst  the 
Persians,  either  at  your  private  houses,  in  places  of  worship 
built  by  you,  or  elsewhere.  The  Agent  adds  that  if  you 
disregard  this  warning,  the  Persian  government  will  be 
obliged  to  adopt  further  measures  to  insure  their  regulations 

102 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          103 

being  carried  out.  I  trust  you  will  see  the  necessity  of  com- 
plying with  the  orders  of  the  Persian  government  in  this 
respect,  for  if  you  neglect  to  do  so,  your  position  in  the 
country  will  be  no  longer  tenable  and  your  work  amongst 
the  Nestorians  will  greatly  suffer  in  consequence. 

The  missionaries,  however,  were  not  greatly  dis- 
turbed by  this.  Mr.  Labaree,  Sr.,  wrote: — 

In  a  private  note  Mr.  Abbott  writes  that  he  is  sorry  to 
have  to  discharge  this  unpleasant  duty,  but  he  has  no  choice, 
and  hopes  we  will  submit  to  the  orders.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  announces  with  pleasure  that  in  consequence  of  our 
representations  His  Excellency,  Mr.  Thompson,  British  Min- 
ister at  Teheran,  has  obtained  orders  from  the  Persian  gov- 
ernment in  favour  of  the  Jews  who  have  been  much  perse- 
cuted in  certain  places  on  account  of  having  embraced 
Christianity.  The  orders  are  enclosed  to  us  "  containing 
strict  injunctions  that  no  interference  whatever  is  to  be 
allowed  with  persons  other  than  Mussulmans,  who  may  wish 
to  change  their  creed." 

We  certainly  are  very  grateful  to  the  Master  for  this 
favourable  concession  of  religious  liberty  which  He  has  put 
it  into  the  hearts  of  the  Persian  rulers  to  make  for  all  non- 
Moslems.  We  take  it  as  an  earnest  that  liberty  for  Moslems 
also  to  embrace  Christianity  will  follow  in  the  Lord's  own 
time.  Meanwhile,  you  can  see  how  circumspect  we  must 
needs  be  in  our  intercourse  with  Mohammedans. 

Under  date  of  March  7th,  1881.,  Mr.  Labaree  wrote 
to  the  Board: 

To  this  communication  our  Station  replied  in  a  few  reso- 
lutions, the  point  of  which  is  to  reserve  to  ourselves  the  right 
of  freely  explaining  the  Scriptures  to  all  who  may  visit  us, 
and  to  deny  any  responsibility  on  our  part  if  Mohammedans 
frequent  places  of  Christian  worship.  These  and  the  larger 
questions  of  privilege  to  preach  and  teach  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  to  all  classes  are  argued  at  length  in  a  paper 
drawn  up  in  Persian  and  sent  through  Mr.  Abbott. 

The  increasing  number  of  Mussulman  pupils  in  Christian 


104  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

schools  in  Syria  and  Egypt,  the  concession  of  our  right  to 
explain  the  doctrines  of  our  religion  by  high  ecclesiastics  in 
this  and  other  lands,  as  well  as  statements  of  the  Koran 
itself  to  the  importance  of  a  right  understanding  of  the 
Jewish  and  Christian  Scriptures,  are  certainly  weighty 
arguments,  if  candidly  considered  by  the  Persians.  It  is  a 
question  if  any  further  notice  of  the  subject  will  be  taken  by 
the  government.  We  deem  it  best,  however,  to  proceed 
cautiously.  In  one  direction,  religious  liberty  in  Persia 
has  obtained  an  important  advantage.  The  same  letter 
which  brought  the  warning  against  preaching  to  Moslems 
brought  also  two  documents  from  the  Persian  Foreign  Office 
addressed  to  the  Governors  of  TJrumia  and  Senneh,  based  on 
the  state  of  affairs  in  Hamadan,  and  conceding  the  right  of 
the  Jews  in  all  parts  of  the  country  to  change  their  religion 
without  molestation.  A  Christian  also  may  become  a  Jew 
if  so  disposed.  Thus  perfect  religious  liberty  is  accorded 
to  all  non-Moslem  sects  to  change  their  creed  at  pleasure. 
This  is  certainly  an  important  step  forward.  It  is  in  striking 
contrast  with  the  situation  twenty-five  years  ago  when  Nes- 
torians  were  beaten  and  imprisoned  for  adhering  to  the 
evangelical  teachings  of  the  missionaries,  and  many  restric- 
tions were  put  upon  our  work.  And  what  a  change  in  the 
aspects  of  the  missionary  work  in  every  way  since  that  day. 
How  enlarged  the  field,  how  increased  the  results  of  Gospel 
labour.  At  that  time  there  were  no  missionaries  in  Persia 
outside  of  TJrumia.  Now  Tabriz  and  Teheran  are  flourish- 
ing stations,  and  Hamadan  is  more  than  ripe  for  resident 
missionaries,  and  the  large  cities  of  Maragha,  Senneh, 
Ardebil,  and  Khoi  are  occupied  by  native  helpers.  Then 
only  to  Nestorians  was  the  Gospel  preached;  now  Armenians, 
Jews,  and  Mussulmans  not  only  hear  the  glad  tidings,  but 
"believing,  rejoice  with  joy  unspeakable."  The  outlook 
is  altogether  encouraging  in  spite  of  the  recent  "  warning," 
and  in  spite  of  the  rumours  that  the  new  Foreign  Minister 
has  reissued  the  old  orders  of  twenty-five  years  ago  against 
our  schools,  etc.  The  former  action  itself  indicates  the 
headway  of  the  work  among  the  Mussulmans.  The  latter, 
if  true,  is  only  amusing.  It  is  a  curious  muddle  which 
allows  a  Christian  to  become  a  Jew  and  disallows  his  accept- 
ing a  different  shade  of  Christian  belief. 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          105 

We  suspect  the  new  Minister,  scarcely  yet  waked  from  his 
seven  years'  official  sleep  in  distant  Meshed,  has  simply 
happened  on  some  of  his  old  orders  of  the  last  quarter  of 
the  century,  and  sent  them  on  to  establish  his  identity. 
Many  things  have  happened  in  Urumia  since  his  former 
fruitless  efforts  to  arrest  the  new  tide  of  intelligence  and 
spirituality  among  the  Nestorians.  There  is  less  hope  than 
ever  of  such  hostile  schemes  succeeding.  The  evangelistic 
and  educational  work  is  now  too  much  in  the  hands  of  the 
people  themselves  to  be  affected  by  orders  of  this  kind. 

The  village  schools  were  never  more  popular  than  this 
winter.  More  than  1,600  pupils  are  in  attendance.  The 
students  from  the  college  engaged  in  teaching  have  in  many 
places  infused  new  life  into  this  department. 

The  resolutions  of  the  Station  referred  to  by  Mr., 
later  Dr.  Labaree,  were  as  follows : — 

In  regard  to  the  warning  of  the  Persian  government  to 
desist  from  labours  among  Moslems,  communicated  by  Mr. 
Abbott,  English  Consul-General,  the  Urumia  missionaries 
resolve  as  follows: 

1.  That  while  we  regret  the  disposition   of  the  Persian 
government  to   restrict   our  liberty,   we  do   appreciate   the 
kindly  spirit  in  which  the  warning  is  given,  and  we  assure 
the  government  that  we  desire  to  avoid  all  proceedings  that 
are  calculated  to  create  disturbance  in  this  country. 

2.  We  do  not  understand  that  the  warning  commands  us 
inhospitably  to  shut  our  doors  against  those  who  visit  us  in 
a  friendly  way.     But  we  assure  the  government  that  it  is 
not  our  habit  to  speak  against  the  religion  of  Islam.     We 
simply  explain,  when  desired,  the  doctrine  of  the  Books  of 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments  which  Moslems  admit  to  be 
the  Word  of  God. 

3.  We  do  not  understand  that  we  are  to  turn  away  orphans 
who  are  now  supported  by  charity  from  Christian  lands, 
until   at  least  the   government   make   some  provision   that 
they  do  not  perish. 

4.  We    respectfully   represent   that   the   responsibility   of 
individuals  attending  any  Christian  services  is  not  ours  but 
theirs. 


106  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

5.  We  respectfully  ask  attention  to  the  following  statement 
of  our  work  and  its  relations  to  the  government,  and  the 
welfare  of  Persia,  hoping  that  the  degree  of  liberty  asked 
for  may  be  conceded  by  the  Shah's  government. 

The  statement  was  forwarded,  and  the  end  of  this 
particular  agitation  was  a  decree  from  the  Shah, 
secured  especially  through  the  personal  interest  of 
Queen  Victoria,  which  enlarged  and  confirmed  the 
rights  of  his  Christian  subjects  and  thus  put  the  Mis- 
sion work  on  a  better  basis. 

Meanwhile,  the  presence  in  Urumia  from  time  to 
time  of  prominent  officials  in  connection  with  the 
operations  against  Sheikh  Obeidullah  brought  the  Mis- 
sion, largely  through  Dr.  Cochran's  influence,  new  and 
powerful  friends.  One  of  the  warmest  and  most  faith- 
ful and  one  of  the  most  immediately  helpful  was  Cap- 
tain, afterward  General,  Wagner,  then  in  charge  of 
the  Persian  artillery  and  in  after  years  drill  master  of 
the  army.  He  was  an  Austrian  Protestant  of  enthu- 
siastic nature  and  loyal  friendship.  It  was  his  dis- 
covery of  Clement  Cochran  when  he  was  in  Urumia 
after  the  Kurdish  invasion  that  brought  the  mission- 
aries at  once  to  the  attention  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
and  he  never  lost  his  friendly  interest  in  them.  His 
love  and  his  quaint  English  were  always  a  delight  to 
Dr.  Cochran  and  his  associates  and  to  the  missionaries 
in  Teheran,  where  he  had  his  headquarters,  and  whither 
he  returned  after  the  campaign  against  the  Kurds.  The 
letters  for  the  next  few  years  are  full  of  references 
to  the  new  friends  and  supporters.  In  February  Dr. 
Cochran  wrote  to  the  Board  :— 

I  have  spent  my  forenoons,  as  far  as  it  has  been  possible, 
in  studying  Persian  and  giving  several  hours  to  the  instruc- 
tion of  the  Medical  Class.  Afternoons  I  am  generally  in 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          107 

the  city  or  in  the  villages.  I  see  patients  in  the  dispensary 
one  afternoon  in  each  week.  None  of  the  rooms  in  the  hos- 
pital as  yet  are  ready  for  occupation,  so  I  ana  not  able  to 
receive  many  patients.  I  have,  however,  a  few  in  the  now 
vacant  dormitory  of  the  college. 

This  fall  has  been  an  unusually  sickly  one.  At  present 
typhus  is  raging  at  its  usual  rate  of  mortality — 18  per  cent. 

There  are  over  800  families  of  Christians  left  destitute  by 
the  ravages  of  war  on  this  plain,  and  many  more  Mussulmans. 

The  prospects  for  the  future  are  as  yet  veiled  in  obscurity. 
On  the  whole,  I  think,  the  outlook  is  brighter  than  it  was  a 
few  weeks  ago.  The  King  is  now  said  to  be  coming  to 
Azerbaijan.  A  large  army  is  also  reported  to  be  advancing 
from  the  interior,  to  be  stationed  along  the  frontier,  or 
Turkish  boundary.  The  brother  of  the  Sipeh  Salar,  or 
Prime  Minister,  made  us  a  call  last  week,  visiting  the  Female 
Seminary.  He  expressed  himself  as  much  pleased  with .  all 
he  saw.  He,  as  well  as  his  brother,  who  has  recently  re- 
turned to  Teheran,  has  appeared  very  friendly  to  us,  and 
thus  we  believe  has  done  much  towards  quieting  and  putting 
a  stop  to  the  evil  reports  and  threats  which  at  one  time  were 
quite  common  and  open. 

We  have  indeed  much  to  be  exceedingly  grateful  for. 
While  wars,  massacres,  famines,  and  pestilence  have  been 
walking  abroad,  we  have  enjoyed  a  measure  of  health  and 
freedom  from  the  deadly  effects  of  all,  which  is  far  beyond 
our  deserts  or  even  expectation. 

He  laments  in  this  letter  that  he  had  been  unable 
before  leaving  for  Persia  to  complete  his  course  in  the 
Dental  College  at  home  "  so  as  to  be  competent  to  make 
a  set  of  false  teeth  when  needed."  Several  of  the  mis- 
sionaries had  had  troubles  with  their  teeth  for  which 
it  was  beyond  his  skill  to  care. 

Mrs.  Cochran's  home  letters  show  how  faithfully  the 
opportunities  of  the  year  were  improved  and  how  dili- 
gently her  husband  went  about  his  business. 

JANUARY  5th,  1881. — At  last  we  are  in  our  own  house. 
We  took  our  first  meal  here  on  the  last  evening  of  the  old 


108  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

year.  The  carpenters  are  still  in  the  house,  and  will  be  all 
winter,  I  guess.  This  being  the  week  of  prayer  of  course 
we  let  the  settling  go  for  a  little.  In  the  morning  all  the 
people  of  the  yard  come  to  our  house  and  Joe  has  a  short 
service  with  them.  Then  after  dinner  there  is  an  English 
service  in  the  city  which  I  try  to  attend,  and  in  the  evening 
another  Syriac  service  at  the  Shedds'. 

JANUARY  12th. — On  Monday,  Captain  Wagner,  the  Aus- 
trian, and  Dr.  Lucas,  the  Armenian,  appeared  for  a  call. 
It  was  so  near  night  and  so  cold  that  we  invited  them  to 
spend  the  night,  an  invitation  which  they  were  not  reluctant 
to  accept.  When  shown  to  his  room  the  Captain  said,  "I 
shall  sleep  like  an  angel."  He  does  not  much  admire  Per- 
sians and  Persian  ways.  He  says  that  when  his  pay  and 
that  of  the  soldiers  under  him  is  due,  he  asks  the  Prime 
Minister  for  it,  and  he  says,  "  Certainly,  pay  them."  "  But 
money  is  necessary,"  states  the  Captain.  "  Then  to-morrow 
I  will  give  it  to  you."  So  he  asks  and  asks,  and  perhaps 
after  a  month  it  is  given  to  him.  The  Prime  Minister 
goes  through  the  same  process  to  get  money  from  the  King. 

JANUARY  26th. — (She  sends  a  plan  of  their  new  house.) 
Quite  a  house,  is  it  not,  seeing  we  planned  it  entirely  our- 
selves? I  am  more  than  satisfied  with  it.  It  is  far  beyond 
anything  I  ever  dreamed  of  having  on  missionary  ground. 
I  only  hope  we  can  use  it  for  the  good  of  those  about  us, 
that  it  may  be  a  home  where  our  circle  and  the  natives  will 
always  feel  at  home.  I  suppose  Joe  has  nearly  reached 
Tabriz.  He  had  fifteen  guards  from  the  government,  and 
a  little  way  out  part  of  them  fell  behind  and  robbed  a  party 
of  teachers  on  their  way  to  the  city !  Robbers  are  the  safest 
guard  one  can  have  in  this  country. 

MAY  llth. — This  has  been  a  busy  day.  In  the  afternoon  a 
recently  arrived  great  man  called,  together  with  the  Nasir- 
ul-Mulk  and  the  Captain.  The  army  expects  to  leave  in  a 
few  days,  and  the  Nasir-ul-Mulk  told  Joe  he  wanted  to  say 
good-bye  to  me,  so  he  came  out  into  the  sitting-room  and 
had  a  glimpse  of  our  family  life.  It  is  refreshing  to  be 
treated  with  courtesy  by  a  Persian  gentleman.  He  is  very 
fond  of  Joe.  He  walks  around  holding  his  hand  like  that 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          109 

crazy  Khan.     The  Captain  was  quite  sick,  had  a  high 

fever,  and  we  persuaded  him  to  spend  the  night.  He  seems 
better  this  morning,  and  has  gone  to  the  camp,  but  has 
promised  to  return  for  the  Sabbath.  He  is  a  very  enter- 
taining man,  but  his  English  is  something  remarkable.  He 
said  last  night,  "  I  shall  be  an  angel  in  die  morning  if  I 
sleep  in  such  a  soft  bed !  " 

SEIR,  May  24th. — I  think  I  wrote  you  that  Captain  Wag- 
ner came  to  our  house  sick  a  week  ago  Saturday.  We 
thought  perhaps  he  was  going  to  hare  typhus  fever,  but  he 
began  to  improve  after  a  few  days.  We  made  him  a  bed  up 
in  the  study.  On  Sunday  he  was  able  to  be  around  and 
was  even  able  to  go  into  the  Sunday  School.  He  was  very 
much  astonished  to  see  Joe  taking  charge  of  it,  especially 
as  two  ministers,  Messrs.  Oldfather  and  Whipple,  were  pres- 
ent. When  all  came  home  and  sat  down  in  the  parlour 
around  the  organ,  he  said  to  Joe  in  his  funny  English, 
"  Now  I  have  found  out  von  new  ting,  you  is  very  good 
doctor,  very  good  father,  and  now  you  is  very  good  arch- 
bishop." In  the  evening,  as  the  other  families  were  out, 
we  had  a  sing  and  a  little  Bible  class  together,  which  the 
Captain  attended.  He  seems  to  be  a  man  of  principles, 
but  of  no  religious  principle.  He  has  very  dim  ideas  of 
religion.  He  said  to  Miss  Ottaway,  "  Der  is  von  ting  dat  I 
no  understand  about  dese  missionaries,  every  day  dey  reads 
die  Bible  and  dey  prays  so  many  times.  What  now  have 
you  and  Mrs.  Cochran  done  dat  is  so  bad  dat  you  must  pray 
tree,  four  times  dis  day  ? "  Somehow  it  seems  very  strange 
here  that  all  civilized  people,  Europeans,  are  not  Christians. 
On  Wednesday  he  went  back  to  the  camp,  but  a  storm  came 
up  towards  night,  and  we  sent  for  him  to  come.  I  wrote 
him  a  note  in  German  with  which  he  appeared  greatly 
pleased.  On  Thursday  he  said  good-bye  to  us,  for  the  camp 
moved  on  toward  Mergawar.  He  will  be  there  several 
months,  I  presume.  Joe  will  go  up  to  visit  him  some  time, 
and  mother  and  I  will  send  him  some  bread  and  butter  and 
cake.  You  don't  know  how  pleasant  it  seems  to  see  some 
one  outside  our  own  circle.  We  have  come  up  to  Seir  to 
spend  a  few  days.  Joe  does  not  seem  to  be  feeling  well, 
is  tired,  and  has  headache.  He  said  he  wished  he  could 


110  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

come  and  just  roam  about  freely  on  the  mountain,  so  I 
immediately  persuaded  him  to  leave  the  college  and  lessons 
and  all  his  cares,  and  come  up  for  a  few  days. 

JUNE  4th. — Joe  does  not  seem  very  well.  I  don't  know 
what  to  do  with  him.  He  has  too  much  care  and  responsi- 
bility put  upon  him  for  so  young  a  man.  Only  twenty-six, 
and  yet  he  is  head  doctor  for  a  whole  province,  besides 
temporary  president  of  a  college,  general  overseer  of  all 
these  fifteen  acres,  besides  taking  a  prominent  part  in  all 
affairs  with  the  government.  Captain  Wagner  has  returned 
from  Mergawar,  and  pitched  his  tent  on  the  road  from  here 
to  the  city,  and  has  called  once.  Yesterday  a  new  army  of 
6,000  came  in,  and  with  them  another  Austrian  captain. 
The  gentlemen  will  call  on  him  on  Monday. 

JUNE  22nd. — On  Sunday  there  were  extra  services.  The 
Captain  came  out  and  told  Joe  that  the  Nasir-ul-Mulk  in- 
tended to  come  in  to  service  and  surprise  us,  so  we  were 
prepared.  We  had  a  Turkish  service,  one  of  the  teachers 
preached,  and  our  Mirza,  a  Mussulman  convert,  prayed.  I 
think  he  had  never  come  out  openly  before.  The  big  man 
remarked  that  he  went  away  with  a  light  in  his  heart,  and 
requested  that  he  might  be  remembered  in  the  prayers  during 
the  remainder  of  the  day. 

JULY  21st. — Last  Friday  the  Persian  general,  who  is  at 
Mergawar,  sent  down  for  Joe,  asking  him  to  come  up  and 
see  his  chief  officer  who  is  sick  with  typhus  fever.  Captain 
Wagner  went  with  him.  They  started  after  dinner,  and 
reached  the  camp  about  8  P.  M.  This  Persian  general,  the 
Nasir-ul-Dowleh,  not  the  one  we  gave  the  dinner  for,  is 
quite  an  enterprising  man,  keeps  up  his  camp  and  military 
drill  in  real  European  style.  He,  with  Captain  Standiski, 
came  to  one  of  the  outposts  to  meet  the  travellers,  and 
escorted  them  in.  He  has  employed  his  soldiers  during 
leisure  hours  in  decorating  the  camp.  In  front  of  the  tents 
quite  a  park  is  laid  out,  beds  bordered  with  stones  and  con- 
taining all  the  wild  flowers  of  the  Mergawar  valley.  There 
is  also  a  long  row  of  poles  at  intervals  of  a  couple  of  yards 
or  so,  all  surmounted  by  oil  cans,  and  Joe  says  the  illumina- 
tion in  his  honour  was  quite  brilliant. 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          111 
Dr.  Cochran  himself  writes  in  the  summer  and  fall : — 

AUGUST  8th,  1881. — It  is  my  turn  to  notify  you  of  the 
most  interesting  events  of  the  past  month.  On  the  first 
Sabbath,  the  Nasir-ul-Mulk,  brother  of  the  Prime  Minister, 
signified  his  desire  to  attend  our  service  at  the  college.  He 
came,  accompanied  by  Captain  Wagner,  the  Austrian  officer 
in  command  of  the  artillery.  We  had  a  short  sermon  in 
Turkish.  Prayer  was  offered  by  one  of  our  Mohammedan 
converts.  At  the  close,  the  general  expressed  his  great 
pleasure,  and  said,  in  the  presence  of  his  Moslem  attendants, 
"  This  is  the  true  religion."  He  also  asked  that  we  remember 
him  in  our  prayers  in  the  remaining  services  of  the  day. 
We  have  had  several  opportunities  for  religious  conversation 
with  this  man,  and  while  we  do  not  dare  to  hope  that  he  is  a 
changed  man,  it  has  still  been  pleasant  to  see  him  so  ready 
to  listen  to  the  truth.  The  college  examinations  took  place 
the  first  of  the  month.  We  had  a  number  of  visitors,  among 
whom  were  the  Governor,  his  two  sons,  and  several  other 
prominent  men  of  the  city.  Our  distinguished  guests  ap- 
peared interested  in  the  exercises  and  pleased  with  the  recita- 
tions, especially  in  Persian  and  English.  The  theological 
students  are  working  in  the  villages  during  this  short  vaca- 
tion. One  of  them  is  teaching  a  school  of  forty  pupils 
among  the  Jews  of  the  city,  which  we  pray  is  the  beginning 
of  a  great  work  soon  to  open  in  their  midst.  The  coming 
of  the  Governor-General  of  Azerbaijan  created  considerable 
excitement.  Extensive  preparations  were  made  to  receive 
him.  He  asked  me  to  go  to  Mergawar  to  see  a  sick  general. 
Accompanied  by  Captain  Wagner,  I  made  the  visit.  The 
commander  of  the  troops  there  was  a  young  Prince  who  is 
very  ambitious  to  have  his  men  excel  in  military  drill 
and  manoeuvre.  The  discipline  and  equipment  of  this  divi- 
sion of  the  army  would  do  credit  to  a  more  warlike  nation 
than  Persia.  After  my  return  from  Mergawar  we  had  an- 
other interview  with  the  Governor-General,  also  with  his 
father-in-law,  in  which  we  found  opportunity  for  religious 
as  well  as  general  conversation.  After  the  return  of  the 
army  from  Mergawar  we  invited  this  Prince,  with  the  two 
Austrian  officers,  to  dine  with  us.  The  Prince  took  pains 
to  make  my  stay  with  him  in  Mergawar  a  pleasant  one,  and 


112  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

it  was  a  pleasure  to  us  to  show  him  in  return  some  attention, 
and  to  give  him  a  glimpse  of  life  in  a  Christian  home. 
Our  relations  with  the  officers  of  the  army  for  the  last  six 
months  have  been  remarkably  pleasant,  and  we  trust  equally 
beneficial. 

Sine  June  1st  the  hospital  has  been  opened  to  patients. 
The  upper  floor  is  not  built  yet,  owing  to  our  losses  occa- 
sioned by  the  war.  Lumber  and  unburnt  bricks  on  hand 
were  used  or  destroyed  by  those  who  took  shelter  here. 
Stone,  lime,  and  burnt  bricks  paid  for  in  advance  never 
reached  us  as  the  contractors  were  made  bankrupt  by  the  war. 

AUGUST  16th,  1881. — Yesterday  I  spent  the  forenoon  in 
performing  an  operation  at  the  hospital,  in  going  to  visit  a 
sick  officer,  a  field  marshal,  and  in  calling  at  the  Governor- 
General's,  who  had  sent  for  me  to  come  and  extract  two 
teeth  for  him.  When  I  got  there  he  was  afraid  to  have  me 
touch  him.  So  he  asked  me  to  leave  the  forceps,  and  he 
would  do  it  himself  if  he  could,  and  if  not,  he  would  send 
for  me  sometime  again.  I  heard  this  morning  that  he  had 
broken  his  tooth,  and  failed  to  extract  it,  although  it  was 
quite  loose.  I  had  a  long  visit  with  him,  and  was  able  to 
converse  with  him  on  many  subjects  in  regard  to  the  expedi- 
tion sent  against  the  Kurds,  etc. 

SEPTEMBER  10th. — The  last  three  weeks  have  been  strange 
ones  to  me.  I  have  been  feeling  rather  poorly  and  have 
had  on  my  hands  bad  cases  at  the  hospital:  Mildred 
Whipple  with  scarlet  fever,  quarantine  for  our  little  baby, 
death  of  Mildred,  the  birth  of  the  little  Whipple  boy,  and 
other  sickness  in  the  Mission.  We  are  all  expecting  to  go 
to  Tabriz  in  a  few  days.  I  think  the  change  will  do  mother 
and  Katharine  good.  I  shall  leave  the  family  in  Tabriz 
and  go  on  by  post  to  Teheran. 

This  trip  to  Teheran  was  the  longest  absence  from 
his  work  Dr.  Cochran  had  taken.  There  were  no  sum- 
mer vacations  or  other  escapes  from  responsibility. 
All  the  year  around,  whether  at  Seir  or  at  the  college 
or  in  the  mountains,  the  sick  and  oppressed  came  to 
him  and  he  healed  and  helped  whom  he  could.  He 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          113 

had  gone  to  Tabriz  to  a  meeting  in  1879  and  had  made 
one  or  two  other  visits  there.  Tabriz  was  the  capital 
of  the  Province,  the  seat  of  the  Vali  Ahd,  or  Crown 
Prince,  and  it  was  the  only  other  Mission  station  in 
northwestern  Persia.  He  had  gone  also  to  Van,  Tur- 
key, in  the  autumn  of  1880,  with  his  sister  Emma,  who 
was  on  her  way  to  America.  But  this  trip  to  Teheran 
was  the  only  long  journey  and  absence  from  his  work, 
and  of  it  and  its  value  to  him  and  the  work  he  wrote 
to  the  Board : — 

For  one  from  so  secluded  a  place  as  Urumia,  it  is  a  great 
advantage  to  get  out  as  far  in  the  world  as  the  capital  of 
Persia  is  even.  I  especially  enjoyed  meeting  European 
physicians  and  profited  thereby.  I  had  the  opportunity  of 
calling  on  one  of  the  sons  of  the  Shah,  the  Minister  of  War. 
I  also  was  called  to  attend  the  Minister  of  Finance. 

In  a  personal  letter  to  home  friends  he  wrote  a  more 
detailed  and  general  account  of  his  trip : — 

On  the  28th  of  September,  at  6  A.  M.,  I  left  chapar  for 
Teheran  to  attend  Annual  Meeting.  Deacon  Joseph  of  Seir 
went  as  my  servant,  and  a  third  horse  was  ridden  by  the 
chapar  shargird,  who  always  goes  from  the  post  where 
horses  are  obtained  to  the  next  one  to  return  them.  The 
horses  on  the  road  are  all  quite  poor,  some  every  stiff,  lame, 
and  bony.  After  obtaining  an  order  from  the  chief  of  the 
Post  Department,  for  which  forty  or  fifty  cents  are  paid,  you 
have  a  right  to  as  many  horses  along  the  route  as  the  order 
demands,  by  the  payment  of  twenty  cents  for  each  horse 
every  four  miles.  Europeans  have  made  it  a  custom  to  fee 
the  shargird  of  each  stage  twenty  cents,  in  return  for  which 
this  individual  is  supposed  to  give  you  the  best  horse  in  the 
stable,  and  to  drive  you,  or  allow  you  to  drive  as  fast  as 
you  please.  On  starting  out  from  a  post,  the  driver  (so- 
called)  taking  the  lead,  trots  the  first  half  hour,  then  breaks 
into  the  regulation  gallop,  which  is  kept  up  if  the  road 


114  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

allows  for  an  hour,  perhaps  then  resting  the  horse  by  trotting 
or  walking  a  while,  the  gallop  is  continued;  the  average 
time  we  made  being  a  little  less  than  eight  miles  an  hour. 
The  distance  between  the  post  stations  is  sixteen  to  twenty- 
four  miles.  On  reaching  the  station  the  driver  walks  the 
horses  about,  until  they  are  cooled  off,  then  if  you  intend  to 
go  on,  the  horses  have  their  saddles  taken  off,  and  others 
are  saddled.  .  .  . 

We  were  quite  a  large  circle  for  Annual  Meeting.  I  re- 
mained two  weeks  in  Teheran.  Gas  was  formally  lighted 
for  the  first  time  by  the  Crown  Prince,  the  day  after  I 
arrived.  I  witnessed  this.  Captain  Wagner  called  soon 
after  I  reached  the  city,  and  was  as  affectionate  and  kind 
as  ever.  I  called  with  him  on  the  King's  first  chamberlain, 
who  had  the  finest  house  in  Teheran.  Around  a  beautiful 
court  are  twenty  rooms,  all  of  which  are  superbly  furnished, 
some  in  Persian,  but  most  in  rich  and  tasteful  European 
style — carpets,  sofas,  chairs,  tables,  mirrors,  clocks,  vases, 
etc.,  all  of  the  richest  European  make,  and  tastefully  ar- 
ranged. One  large  room,  carpeted  with  a  large  size  Persian 
carpet,  called  the  crystal  room,  had  its  ceilings  inlaid  with 
large  and  small  mirrors,  and  had  beautiful  glass  chandeliers 
and  windows.  One  room  was  wholly  devoted  to  paintings 
and  other  pictures, — many  of  which  were  of  nude  figures. 
This  man's  wife  is  the  King's  sister.  I  also  called  on  the 
Nasir-ul-Mulk,  the  brother  of  the  chamberlain  and  of  the 
ex-Prime  Minister,  and  the  man  who  was  at  Urumia  last 
winter  and  summer  in  command  of  a  division  of  the  army. 
As  I  entered  the  yard  of  this  officer  with  Dr.  Torrence  and 
Mr.  Hawkes,  he  ran  to  meet  me,  and  said,  "  You  must  let  me 
kiss  you."  He  did  all  he  could  to  show  his  friendship  and 
respect  for  us ;  said  he  never  would  forget  our  kindness  toward 
him  in  Urumia,  etc.,  etc.  He  returned  the  call  before  I  left. 
We  also  called  on  the  Hesam-ul-Mulk,  the  Hamadan  general, 
who  was  with  the  former  in  Urumia.  He  also  seemed  very 
glad  to  see  me  again,  and  promised  to  do  all  he  could  to 
make  it  agreeable  for  Mr.  Hawkes  when  he  lived  in  Hamadan. 

I  called  on  the  King's  second  son,  the  Minister  of  War, 
with  Captain  Standiski,  who  thanked  me  for  attending  his 
sick  officers  and  soldiers  in  Urumia  since  the  war,  and  said 
he  would  obtain  a  decoration  from  the  King  for  me. 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS  115 

One  day  Mr.  Potter  and  I,  attended  by  a  servant,  were 
riding  in  from  the  English  Embassy's  summer  quarters,  and 
we  met  two  carriages  with  eighteen  outriders  in  front  and 
as  many  on  each  side  and  behind.  The  head  riders  called 
out,  "  The  Shah's  harem ! "  and  were  driving  every  native 
off  the  avenue.  We  were  not  invited  to  leave,  nor  even  to 
close  our  eyes,  so  when  I  came  by  the  carriages  I  ventured, 
politely,  to  cast  a  glance  upon  the  royal  ladies  out  of  the 
corners  of  my  eyes,  and  I  beheld  eight  ladies  dressed  just 
as  every  other  Persian  woman  is  on  the  street — covered  with 
a  blue  cotton  sheet,  except  the  face,  over  which  was  a  white 
openwork  veil. 

Quite  a  party  of  us  visited  the  ruins  of  ancient  Rhei  or 
Rhages,  about  ten  miles  out  of  the  city.  History  tells  us 
this  was  the  largest  city  east  of  Babylon,  500,000  inhabitants 
lived  in  it  a  thousand  years  ago.  Part  of  the  walls  of  the 
city  stand,  and  two  or  three  towers,  on  one  of  which  are 
Cufic  inscriptions. 

The  King's  College  has  200  students  who  are  taught 
English,  French,  Russian,  Persian,  and  Arabic  languages, 
music,  drawing,  painting,  and  some  mathematics.  The  dis- 
cipline and  general  management  is  quite  good.  There  is  a 
small,  pretty  theatre  in  connection  with  the  college  buildings 
into  which  we  went  and  heard  the  college  brass  band  per- 
form. They  did  exceedingly  well — their  master  being  an 
Austrian.  The  Shah  has  never  been  allowed  by  his  religious 
advisors  to  have  a  company  perform  in  this  theatre,  as  these 
parties  are  afraid  any  such  performance  might  injure  the 
morals  of  the  people. 

The  part  of  Teheran  in  which  Europeans  reside  is  laid 
out  very  like  an  European  city.  The  rest  of  the  city  is 
like  any  Persian  town,  except  that  the  main  avenues  are 
broader  and  straighter.  The  walls  surrounding  the  city  are 
twelve  miles  long,  they  and  the  gates,  with  the  moat,  being 
kept  in  perfect  repair.  The  gate  leading  to  the  Shah's 
private  palace  is  quite  a  high  and  handsome  one,  with  con- 
siderable tiling  and  some  sham  marble  pillars.  We  would 
have  been  allowed,  through  the  courtesy  of  Dr.  Tolozon,  the 
Shah's  French  physician,  to  visit  this  palace,  had  it  not  been 
undergoing  repairs.  The  Shah  himself  was  in  a  country 
palace.  We  went  into  the  throne  room.  The  throne  is 


116      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

Delhi  alabaster,  and  the  only  other  valuable  pieces  of  furni- 
ture in  the  room  are  two  inlaid  or  mosaic  old  doors.  I 
also  saw  all  the  King's  horses.  He  has  some  most  beautiful 
Arabs.  Three  miles  out  of  the  city  are  the  King's  Zoological 
Gardens  in  which  he  has  a  number  of  wild  animals,  one  of 
which  recently  escaped  and  took  to  the  mountains — a  leopard. 
They  were  only  insecurely  caged.  I  believe  one  or  two  keepers 
were  eaten  up  rather  recently.  I  decided  not  to  venture 
near.  I  was  invited  with  Dr.  Torrence  to  treat  the  Minister 
of  the  Treasury — the  first  man  in  favour  with  the  King. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  features  in  my  visit  to  Teheran  was 
the  opportunity  I  had  of  seeing  and  visiting  with  other  physi- 
cians, European,  Dr.  Tolozon  (French),  Baker  (English), 
and  Torrence  (TJ.  S.).  The  missionary  work  in  the  Teheran 
field  is  progressing  slowly — there  are  many  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  its  rapid  and  healthy  growth.  There  is  a  small  church 
there,  of  Moslems  and  Armenians,  a  girls'  boarding  school, 
a  few  young  Armenians  in  a  training  class,  colportage,  and 
out-station  work.  Returning,  Miss  Jewett,  Mr.  Wilson,  and  I 
came  together  in  a  tarantass,  or  Russian  carriage,  as  far  as 
Kazvin.  We  left  Teheran  at  6:30  in  the  morning,  and  had 
many  detentions  all  day  in  the  way  of  harness  breaking, 
wagon  getting  out  of  order,  etc.  The  climax  came  at  7  p.  M., 
when  halfway  between  two  of  the  posts  and  about  twenty 
miles  from  Kazvin,  one  of  the  wheels  went  to  pieces  en- 
tirely. It  was  dark,  and  we  had  to  stay  there  for  over  three 
hours,  until  another  conveyance,  a  much  smaller  one,  into 
which  we  could  barely  stow  ourselves  and  luggage  away,  was 
brought.  Mr.  Wilson  and  Miss  Jewett  then  had  a  chill  to 
add  to  the  entertainment  of  the  day.  At  the  next  post- 
house  we  stopped  and  did  what  was  possible  for  the  sick — 
they  rested  a  while,  and  then  we  went  on,  reaching  the  hotel 
in  Kazvin  at  3  A.  M.  After  a  little  rest  and  breakfast,  I 
left  them  feeling  quite  well  again,  to  come  on  by  caravan. 
To  the  next  station,  wagons  can  be  used,  so  I  took  one  to 
make  my  day's  work  a  little  easier,  since  I  had  had  but  half 
an  hour's  rest  since  leaving  Teheran,  but  misfortunes  fol- 
lowed me — the  horses,  immediately  on  starting,  ran  away 
with  us,  but  the  road  being  tolerably  good,  no  accident  came 
of  it.  After  they  had  been  quieted  down,  and  had  gone 
nicely  for  a  while,  they  started  off  again  at  breakneck  speed. 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS          117 

This  time  they  ran  us  up  and  down  little  hills  or  embank- 
ments, against  the  vineyard  walls,  stones,  and  other  obstacles, 
until  they  were  finally  brought  up  against  a  wall.  We  then 
got  out,  sent  back  these  horses,  and  got  more  manageable 
ones.  This  took  one  and  three-quarter  hours,  during  which 
time  I  went  over  into  one  of  the  vineyards,  and  spreading 
my  blanket,  lay  down  for  a  nap,  and  ate  grapes.  Nothing 
else  happened  that  day  of  any  note.  The  following  day  we 
reached  Sultania  at  noon,  where  we  were  detained  two  hours, 
all  the  horses  in  the  station  having  just  come  in.  .  .  .We 
spent  that  night  in  Zenjan  and  started  next  morning,  which 
was  Saturday,  at  3  o'clock  so  as  to  reach  Meyaneh  for 
the  Sabbath.  At  7  P.  M.  we  arrived  in  Meyaneh,  having 
passed  a  horse  which  had  fallen  into  one  of  the  open  water 
wells,  and  which  a  number  of  men  were  trying  to  get  out. 
On  the  Koflan  Kuh  Pass  a  chapar  horse  had  succumbed 
to  his  hard  work,  and  the  riders  had  but  just  taken  off  his 
hide,  and  moved  on  when  a  band  of  forty  or  more  vultures 
had  come  to  the  spot  and  were  discussing  the  subject  as  we 
came  upon  them. 

We  had  travelled  eighty-four  miles  that  day  and  were 
pretty  tired.  A  letter  was  handed  me  from  mother  and 
Katharine,  saying  that  Clement  was  very  sick,  and  asking 
me  to  travel  on  to  them  Sunday  as  well  as  other  days. 
I  was  one  hundred  miles  from  Tabriz.  I  immediately  asked 
for  horses  to  go  on,  but  they  told  me  that  they  dared  not 
let  their  horses  go,  at  least  in  the  fore  part  of  the  night, 
because  there  are  always  spies  about  evenings  who  in- 
formed the  highwaymen  of  any  expected  departures,  etc. 
By  much  urging  they  promised  to  start  me  at  midnight  .  .  . 
but  we  managed  to  get  off  at  ten  instead  of  twelve,  being 
pretty  well  armed.  There  was  no  moon  and  it  was  cloudy. 
The  road,  after  leaving  Meyaneh,  for  some  ten  miles  is  up 
a  lonely  valley,  then  for  the  rest  of  the  way  to  Turkmen, 
fourteen  miles,  it  is  up  a  steep  mountain,  then  over  a  plateau. 
Up  this  valley  our  companions  quite  confidently  looked  for 
an  attack.  We  rode  in  the  river  bed,  there  being  but  little 
water  in  the  meandering  stream,  at  a  little  distance  from  each 
other,  in  order  first,  not  to  be  too  near  the  rocky  dark  sides 
of  the  valley  and  thus  be  in  more  danger  if  there  were  any 
men  on  the  lookout,  of  having  our  horses  suddenly  caught, 


118  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

and,  secondly,  being  at  a  distance  from  each  other,  we  might 
be  taken  for  a  large  number,  and  some  of  us  at  least  have 
more  warning  in  case  of  any  disturbance.  We  rode  on  in 
this  way,  our  hands  on  our  revolvers  or  guns  until  we  were 
just  emerging  from  the  valley  when,  under  the  shadow  of  a 
rock,  we  saw  four  persons  seated.  We  spurred  up  our 
horses  and  went  on  up  the  mountain.  When  we  reached 
the  top  we  thought  we  heard  horsemen  pursuing,  and  so 
we  pressed  on  as  rapidly  as  the  darkness  allowed.  At  4  A.  M. 
we  reached  Turkmen,  chilled  with  the  night  air.  .  .  .  We 
only  stopped  long  enough  at  the  stations  to  change  horses 
until  5  P.M.,  when  we  came  to  the  first  station  out  of  Tabriz. 
Here  the  horses  had  to  be  fed,  and  we  were  delayed  two 
hours.  This  night  proved  darker  than  the  last,  and  the  roads 
much  worse.  We  went  stumbling  on  till  we  came  within  six 
or  eight  miles  of  the  city,  where  the  wells  which  produce  and 
carry  the  water  to  the  city  began  to  be  numerous,  open,  and 
many  of  them  in  the  road;  I  was  overcome  with  sleep,  and 
even  the  terror  which  one  of  these  wells  with  its  rushing 
water  deep  down  in  it  produced,  when  I  found  my  horse  was 
on  the  very  edge  of  it,  did  not  keep  me  awake  long.  I  would 
sleep  and  wake  according  as  my  horse  walked  steadily  or 
stumbled.  We  finally  entered  the  darker  streets  of  the  city 
with  their  holes  and  uneven  places.  Only  in  the  bazars 
were  we  occasionally  stopped  by  a  sleepy  watchman  who  came 
out  of  his  little  room,  lamp  in  hand,  to  ask  who  we  were. 
We  dismounted  at  the  house  at  midnight,  having  suffered 
much  more  that  night  from  the  danger  of  the  wells  than  we 
did  the  previous  one  from  the  possibility  of  highwaymen 
attacking  us.  I  found  Clement  very  low,  but  ever  since 
then  he  has  been  picking  up. 


Mrs.  Cochran's  letters  add  a  touch: — 

TABRIZ,  October  27th. — Joe  reached  here  Sunday  at  mid- 
night in  a  pouring  rain.  We  telegraphed  him  on  Wednes- 
day to  start,  as  Clement  was  poorly,  but  not  to  rush.  It 
seems  he  had  started  early  that  morning,  and  did  not  receive 
the  telegram.  On  the  road,  however,  he  received  letters  from 
us,  and  decided  to  come  through  in  a  hurry.  The  journey 


OLD  FOES  AND  NEW  FRIENDS  119 

is  sixteen  ordinary  caravan  days.  He  came  "  chapar "  in 
five.  The  last  174  miles  he  rode  with  a  rest  of  only  an  hour 
or  so.  He  is  not  stiff,  however,  and  does  not  seem  at  all 
used  up.  I  think  we  may  start  for  home  next  week.  Joe 
is  waiting  for  some  official  papers  from  Teheran,  without 
which  he  does  not  like  to  go  to  Urumia,  for  some  of  the 
Khans  are  acting  very  badly,  demanding  unjust  taxes  on  the 
college  property,  etc. 

They  returned  home  to  Urumia  from  Tabriz  with  the 
two  children  the  latter  part  of  November,  and  in  spite 
of  the  sickness  and  hard  journey  both  declared  that 
they  felt  better  for  the  trip.  Dr.  Cochran  wrote : — 

Since  my  return  I  have  tried  to  arrange  my  work  so  that 
I  can  attend  more  to  my  professional  duties.  In  the  last 
three  years,  while  at  the  dispensary  and  at  other  places,  I 
have  prescribed  for  a  large  number  of  patients.  I  have, 
nevertheless,  given  a  comparatively  limited  time  to  it.  It  has 
seemed  almost  impossible  with  the  force  we  have  had  to 
shirk  any  of  the  work  which  I  have  done  for  my  own 
peculiar  work.  I  have,  however,  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
in  the  future  I  must  be  free  to  do  more  for  my  medical 
students  and  for  patients  which  we  can  now  receive  in  our 
partially  built  hospital.  I  must  take  more  time,  too,  for 
study  and  research  than  I  have  been  able  to  do  heretofore. 
In  fact,  I  have  had  next  to  no  time  to  study  up  even  the 
cases  under  treatment  outside  of  those  in  our  circle.  A  con- 
siderable time  is  expended  in  the  necessary  intercourse  with 
the  officials  of  the  place. 

The  Cochran  family  ended  the  year  with  loving 
thought  of  the  good  cheer  of  others.  Mrs.  Cochran 
writes  from  Urumia,  December  25th: — 

HOME,  Christmas  morning. — I  am  thinking  how  beautiful 
the  Christmas  anthems  are  in  all  the  churches  of  the  home- 
land this  morning,  how  many  happy  family  gatherings  were 
held  last  evening,  how  gay  the  shops  were  last  week.  It 


120  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

almost  makes  me  homesick.  But  away  off  in  Persia,  while 
the  snow  lies  deep  in  the  quiet  yard  around  us,  you  would 
find  a  very  happy  little  family.  We  have  just  been  playing 
on  our  organ  all  the  Christmas  hymns  we  could  find,  and  I 
have  told  Clement,  for  the  first  time,  the  story  of  the  shep- 
herds. I  couldn't  bear  to  let  Christmas  go  without  some 
kind  of  a  celebration,  especially  on  account  of  the  children 
of  the  Mission.  Poor  little  Persians!  They  don't  know 
anything  about  a  real  American  Christmas.  So  Joe  and  I 
thought  we  would  contrive  something.  We  asked  people  to 
please  send  their  presents  to  our  house,  and  to  come  about 
5  Friday  evening  to  remain  over  night,  as  it  is  hardly 
safe  to  return  to  the  city  in  the  evening.  We  asked  the 
English  ladies,  who  are  at  Seir,  and  as  there  was  no  other 
way,  Joe  brought  them  down  in  a  sleigh.  We  also  invited 
the  German  lady. 


IX 


THE  REMAINDER  OF  HIS  FIRST  TERM  OF 
SERVICE  AND  HIS  FIRST  FURLOUGH 

DR.  COCHRAN  had  reached  Persia  in  1878.  He 
returned  to  America  for  his  first  furlough  in 
1888,  after  ten  years  of  crowded  and  uninter- 
rupted service.  Six  of  these  were  yet  before  him  on  the 
Christmas  day  to  which  reference  has  just  been  made. 
No  Kurdish  Invasion  touched  these  six  years  with 
spectacular  romance,  but  they  were  full  of  stirring  in- 
cident, of  living  contact  with  men,  of  difficult  problems, 
of  heavy  responsibility,  increased  by  the  uncertainty 
of  health,  arising  from  the  strains  and  burdens  of  the 
work.  Mrs.  Cochran's  letters  from  1882  give  a  picture 
of  his  activity  and  home  life: — 

JANUARY  22nd. — Just  now  the  Persian  government,  at  least 
those  in  power,  do  not  seem  very  favourable  to  us.  The  City 
Governor  does  not  attend  to  cases  of  injustice,  and  is  evi- 
dently not  our  friend. 

Did  I  tell  you  that  a  while  ago,  Joe  shaved  his  beard  and 
went  with  bare  face  for  a  while  ?  He  heard  lately  that  it  was 
the  talk  in  the  city  that  the  Shah  had  ordered  it  to  disgrace 
him!  To  shave  the  beard  is  the  only  punishment  that  can 
be  inflicted  upon  an  ecclesiastic  in  this  country. 

FEBRUARY  22nd. — Yesterday  some  Kurds  came  down  here, 
Hassan's  Beg's  son  with  his  sick  wife,  whom  he  wished 
Joe  to  cure.  These  Kurds  are  Persian  subjects,  at  enmity 
with  the  Sheikh.  The  woman  is  left  in  the  hospital.  It 

121 


122  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

shows  that  they  have  considerable  confidence  in  us  to  leare 
one  of  their  women  here  alone. 

MARCH  28th. — We  had  just  put  the  children  to  bed,  and 
were  ready  for  our  Sunday  evening  sermon  from  Phillips 
Brooks  when  some  one  came  for  Joe  to  go  and  see  Ardashir 
Khan,  saying  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  speak  since  morn- 
ing and  was  very  low.  His  cousin,  the  Adjutant,  sent  the 
servants  for  Joe.  The  Adjutant,  you  will  perhaps  remember, 
is  the  one  to  whom  Joe  gave  the  dentophone  a  short  time  ago. 
He  is  very  deaf,  but  this  helps  him  considerably,  and  he  was 
very  much  delighted  with  it. 

APRIL  6th. — Yesterday  the  Governor  called  here.  We  had 
been  expecting  him  for  several  days,  so  were  ready.  The 
parlour  was  real  pretty.  We  had  several  plants  in  full 
bloom  in  the  windows,  besides  vases  of  cut  flowers.  For 
refreshments  we  had  only  tea  and  cake.  From  our  house 
he  went  to  the  college  and  heard  several  classes  recite,  then 
to  the  hospital,  with  which  he  was  much  pleased.  He  wanted 
to  see  the  stones  which  Joe  extracted,  and  examined  all  the 
instruments,  which  were  laid  out  on  tables  in  the  drug  room. 
We  hear,  on  pretty  good  authority,  that  this  Governor  has 
complained  of  us  at  Teheran,  asking  that  we  be  removed, 
saying  that  we  were  very  troublesome,  turning  the  people 
from  Islam,  etc.  He  is  quite  under  the  influence  of  the 
Papists.  They,  you  perhaps  know,  make  no  attempt  to 
convert  Mussulmans,  only  Nestorians.  This  Governor  sent 
the  other  day  to  know  whether  we  had  an  order  from  the 
government  for  our  printing  press.  We  have  none,  only  it 
has  been  allowed  to  run  forty-seven  years  undisturbed. 

APRIL  27th. — Poor  Joe  is  so  beset  with  people  that  he  has 
had  to  lock  his  doors  to-day  while  he  prepared  for  the  mail. 
He  has  considerable  correspondence  these  days  with  the 
British  minister  and  consul  over  government  affairs  and 
oppressions  here. 

MAY  llth. — In  order  to  teach  the  Sabbath  School  lesson 
I  have  to  prepare  a  good  deal.  I  enjoy  the  study  of  Mark. 
Somehow  I  never  realized  before  how  the  sick  thronged  and 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     123 

crowded  upon  Christ  during  His  whole  life  wherever  He 
went.  People  do  just  so  in  this  country.  You  can  hardly 
realize  it  in  America.  A  few  Sabbaths  ago  Joe  went  to  a 
village  some  distance  from  here.  He  had  not  taken  off  his 
boots  before  the  sick  began  to  come  to  the  house  where  he 
was.  Before  and  after  service  it  was  just  so.  The  next 
morning  he  went  to  another  village,  and  as  they  had  heard 
of  his  coming,  by  the  time  he  arrived,  the  sick  were  all  out 
in  the  street,  on  beds,  on  donkeys,  and  on  people's  backs. 
Was  it  not  like  the  times  of  CErist? 

MAY  16th. — I  wanted  to  attend  Joseph's  chemistry  lecture 
this  evening,  but  baby  was  not  at  all  sleepy.  It  is  the  best 
substitute  I  have  here  for  evening  concerts  and  lectures  to 
go  with  Joe  to  the  nicely  lighted  chapel,  and  sit  in  the  corner 
of  a  room  full  of  boys. 

His  medical  work  was  increasing,  and  the  skill  and 
success  of  it  were  yearly  extending  his  reputation.  His 
personal  qualities  as  well  as  his  medical  services  were 
giving  him  a  steadily  enlarging  influence  with  Persian 
officials,  which  enabled  him  to  be  of  real  service  to 
men  of  honest  purpose,  and  a  check  upon  bad  men, 
while  it  made  it  possible  for  him  to  aid  many  oppressed 
village  people.  One  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  new 
friends  gained  was  Amir-i-Nizam,  the  Governor-General 
of  the  Province.  He  was  a  man  of  great  vigour  of 
character,  who  put  down  disorders  with  a. firm  hand. 
His  personal  morals  were  detestable,  and  Dr.  Cochran 
and  Dr.  Holmes  both  had  plain  dealings  with  him,  but 
whether  in  Tabriz,  Teheran,  or  Kermanshah,  he  had 
always  a  kindly  feeling  toward  the  missionaries.  Dr. 
Cochran  writes  on  September  2nd,  1882,  of  his  visit  to 
Urumia : — 

The  comparative  peace  which  we  have  enjoyed  for  the  last 
year  was  brought  to  an  end  about  a  month  ago  by  the  re- 
appearance of  Sheikh  Obeidullah.  You  have  probably 


124  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

noticed  in  the  Associated  Press  reports  of  his  escape  from 
Constantinople,  where  he  has  been  detained  by  the  Sultan 
since  his  invasion  of  these  borders.  This  circumstance  quite 
naturally  threw  these  border  districts  into  quite  a  panic. 
TJrumia  people  thought  his  return  to  his  home  seventy  miles 
from  here  necessarily  meant  that  he  was  to  re-attack  the  city. 
The  Governor-General  of  Azerbaijan,  with  about  three  regi- 
ments, had  just  arrived  here  on  a  visit  to  this  and  other 
districts  along  the  border.  He  ordered  four  more  regiments 
to  come  to  the  front,  and  sent  several  companies  of  infantry 
with  artillery  and  cavalry  to  the  boundary.  Prices  imme- 
diately rose,  and  many  began  to  make  preparations  for  flight 
at  the  first  report  of  a  gun.  A  month  has  now  passed,  and 
the  Governor-General,  with  a  number  of  other  men  of  high 
rank,  is  still  here,  awaiting  the  movements  of  the  Turks 
and  Kurds.  The  Persians  were  disposed  to  look  upon  the 
reappearance  of  the  Sheikh  as  casus  belli  against  the  Turks. 
Now,  however,  it  seems  quite  evident  that  the  Sheikh 
escaped  from  Constantinople  and  was  not  honourably  dis- 
missed, as  the  Persians  feared.  Moreover,  the  Turks  on  dis- 
covering his  escape,  ordered  troops  to  intercept  him,  and  have 
since  ordered  that  he  go  to  Mecca,  and  there  receive  a  pension 
from  the  government,  or  else  be  brought  by  force  to  Con- 
stantinople. 

Yesterday  he  sent  a  letter  to  the  Governor-General,  the 
contents  of  which  I  have  not  as  yet  learned. 

In  asking  about  our  work,  especially  the  educational  de- 
partment, the  Governor  asked  if  we  would  admit  all  appli- 
cants to  our  schools.  In  replying  that  we  would  if  the  gov- 
ernment did  not  object,  referring  to  the  Mussulman  scholars, 
he  could  not  contain  himself,  and  poured  forth  a  volley  of 
abuses  on  their  religious  and  political  leaders.  He  said  let 
the  donkeys  remain  in  their  donkeyhood  if  they  choose,  but 
they  cannot  forever  gag  all  their  subjects.  As  if  education 
could  make  a  man  any  the  worse  citizen.  He  often  has  ex- 
pressed himself  in  the  highest  terms  of  praise  referring  to 
our  educating  the  people.  While  there  are  many  objections 
to  having  an  army  here, — it  raises  the  prices  of  everything, 
levies  on  the  poor  people,  robs  and  plunders  on  all  the  high- 
ways,— there  are  advantages.  It  gives  us  a  rare  opportunity 
to  meet  the  best  society  in  the  land,  to  have  an  influence  for 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     125 

good,  I  trust,  over  them;  and  many  opportunities  for  openly 
conversing  on  religious  subjects  with  them. 

Our  hospital  building  was  wholly  completed  last  month 
after  the  many  delays  and  losses.  We  hope,  before  long,  as 
soon  as  I  am  likely  to  remain  home,  to  open  it,  and  put 
more  strength  on  this  than  on  any  other  department  of 
my  medical  work. 

A  few  weeks  later  Dr.  Shedd  writes: — 

Dr.  Cochran's  professional  services  have  opened  a  very 
friendly  intercourse  with  the  Amir,  and  especially  with  his 
Vizier.  Our  college  and  hospital  grounds  were  unjustly 
taxed  last  spring  and  arrears  exacted,  costing  us  in  all  over 
one  hundred  dollars.  This  tax  the  Amir  has  cancelled  for 
the  future,  so  long  as  he  is  in  authority.  His  note  on  the 
subject  gives  our  work  a  high  recommendation,  and  may 
open  the  way  for  the  Shah  to  confirm  the  favour  granted  in 
perpetuo. 

In  the  fall  of  1882  Mrs.  Cochran's  mother,  Mrs. 
Hale,  and  her  sister,  Miss  Hale,  who  subsequently 
married  Dr.  Holmes,  came  from  Minneapolis  to  Persia 
on  a  visit,  and  remained  for  a  year  in  Urumia.  They 
were  accompanied  by  Mr.  S.  M.  Clement,  Jr.  Mr. 
Clement  stayed  a  month,  and  was  profoundly  impressed 
with  what  he  saw  of  the  magnitude  of  Dr.  Cochran's 
influence  and  the  benevolence  and  power  of  his  work. 
To  Dr.  Cochran  it  was  a  great  joy  to  have  this  visit 
from  his  dearest  friend  who  was  as  a  brother  to  him. 
He  showed  Mr.  Clement  all  he  could  of  the  life  and 
needs  of  the  people,  not  omitting  to  set  up  with  some 
mountain  people  a  realistic  and  sensational  attack 
upon  Mr.  Clement  which  had  all  the  appearances  of 
genuineness,  and  in  which  Mr.  Clement  was  disarmed 
and  shown  just  how  it  feels  to  be  robbed.  The  joke 
soon  came  out,  of  course.  He  played  the  same  prank 


126  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

some  years  later  on  a  Secretary  of  the  Board  who 
visited  the  field.  Dr.  Cochran  took  a  quiet  delight  in 
teasing  people,  but  he  kept  his  jokes  firmly  in  hand, 
even  when  he  was  operating  with  riotous  mountaineers 
as  his  agents.  Mrs.  Hale  was  greatly  interested  and 
pleased  with  the  character  and  influence  of  her  son. 
"  I  think  Joseph  has  developed  into  a  very  beautiful 
character,"  she  wrote  the  first  day  out  from  Erivan, 
where  Dr.  Cochran  came  to  meet  them  on  October  8th. 
"  Our  family  worship  last  evening  and  this  morning 
I  enjoyed  very  much."  The  party  arrived  in  Urumia 
about  October  20th.  Just  after  their  arrival  Dr. 
Cochran  had  to  attend  a  very  bad  case  of  smallpox,  a 
German  woman  whom  they  all  knew  and  loved.  She 
died  from  the  disease  and  there  was  a  day  of  great 
anxiety  when  it  seemed  that  Dr.  Cochran  had  con- 
tracted it.  Happily  it  was  not  so.  Mrs.  Hale  found  Dr. 
Cochran  speaking  the  native  languages  more  fluently 
even  than  English  and  firmly  settled  in  the  confidence 
of  all  classes.  "  Yesterday,"  she  wrote,  December  18th, 
1882,  "  Joseph  received  a  call  from  the  Governor  and 
a  messenger  of  the  Shah,  who  came  to  bring  a  present 
to  the  Amir.  He  was  taken  sick  after  his  arrival,  and 
Joe  was  called  to  attend  him.  These  gentlemen  sent 
word  that  they  would  call  three  hours  before  sunset, 
but  the  carriage  drove  up  just  before  we  finished  din- 
ner. I  believe  only  six  servants  came  with  them. 
These  remained  in  the  hall  during  the  call  which,  I 
should  say,  lasted  an  hour.  After  the  call  here,  Joseph 
showed  them  over  the  hospital.  The  Governor  had 
been  over  it  before,  but  the  other  man  seemed  much 
pleased."  And  again  on  May  10th,  1883,  "  Joseph  has 
a  case  in  the  hospital  upon  whom  he  performed  quite 
a  critical  operation  yesterday.  He  felt  so  anxious 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH      127 

about  him  that  he  stayed  at  the  hospital  last  night. 
He  has  been  remarkably  successful  in  his  surgical 
operations,  and  receives  blessings  without  number 
from  the  sufferers  who  have  been  benefited."  Mrs. 
Hale  found  that  wherever  he  went  or  the  people  knew 
he  was  coming  there  was  always  some  one  waiting  to 
see  him.  Often  there  would  be  many.  At  home  "  there 
would  always  be  people  waiting  for  him  the  first  thing 
in  the  morning  so  that  he  did  not  dare  show  himself 
before  breakfast  or  there  was  no  knowing  when  he 
could  get  back."  Mrs.  Hale  and  her  daughter  left  Uru- 
mia  in  October,  1883,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cochran  and 
their  two  children  accompanied  them  to  Tabriz,  and 
Dr.  Cochran  went  with  them  to  Tiflis.  He  had  an  old 
wagon  fitted  up  for  the  trip.  It  was  a  remarkable 
vehicle,  but  it  made  the  journey  quite  comfortable  for 
them.  Mrs.  Hale  found  Dr.  Cochran  a  remarkable 
driver.  She  never  expected  to  travel  over  such  horrors 
as  these  Persian  roads  in  such  a  "  prairie  schooner," 
but  Tiflis  was  safely  reached.  Dr.  Cochran  had  to  re- 
turn at  once  on  a  hurried  trip,  such  as  he  often  re- 
peated, because  of  the  illness  of  his  oldest  child. 

Among  the  hospital  patients  of  1883  was  an  official 
in  the  Persian  army  brought  to  the  hospital  with  his 
arm  dreadfully  shattered  from  a  gunshot  .wound  re- 
ceived from  the  Kurds.  It  had  been  badly  neglected 
and  gangrene  had  set  in.  Dr.  Cochran  thought  at  first 
that  it  would  be  impossible  to  save  the  arm,  and  feared 
that  the  man  must  lose  his  life.  He  hesitated  very 
much  about  taking  him  into  the  hospital,  fearing  that 
he  could  not  live  and  that  the  hospital  would  be  blamed 
for  his  death.  But  the  man  plead  so  hard  to  have 
him  do  the  best  he  could  that  he  consented  to  take 
him.  He  was  able  to  save  not  only  his  life  but  his 


128  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

arm  also.  The  man's  gratitude  knew  no  bounds.  He 
said  that  he  had  one  son,  and  that  after  him  the  thing 
he  valued  most  was  his  horse,  and  he  should  give  that 
to  Dr.  Cochran.  When  he  left,  the  horse  was  brought 
out  and  presented.  It  was  a  very  beautiful  animal, 
and  Dr.  Cochran  rode  him  for  many  years.  This  same 
man  objected  to  having  any  of  the  hospital  assistants 
touch  him.  To  his  thought,  they  were  not  as  gentle 
as  the  doctor.  He  said  the  doctor's  hand  was  "  like 
velvet." 

Hard  work  and  heavy  responsibility  and  the  im- 
possibility of  any  escape  from  either  in  Urumia,  were 
telling  on  Dr.  Cochran's  health.  He  suffered  from 
sciatica  and  malaria,  and  after  fighting  off  any  idea 
of  rest  as  long  as  possible  he  at  last  wrote  to  the 
Board  on  June  llth,  1884 : — 

I  am  just  home  from  a  short  trip  to  the  mountains  with 
Mr.  Rogers.  We  had  been  appointed  to  visit  the  Patriarch 
in  Kochanis,  but  we  were  unable  to  get  beyond  Gawar,  as 
we  did  not  have  the  necessary  Turkish  vise  on  our  passports. 
We  were  unaware  of  the  new  regulations. 

Our  educational  work  in  Turkey  depends  now  almost 
entirely  on  the  friendship  of  the  Nestorian  Patriarch.  The 
Porte  has  notified  him  that  he  can  establish  as  many  schools 
as  he  likes,  and  call  on  the  government  for  aid,  but  not  to 
allow  foreigners  to  open  schools  among  bis  people.  Mar 
Shimon  is  favourable  now  to  our  party,  and  it  was  believed 
that  a  friendly  visit  would  result  in  his  permission  to  open 
several  schools  in  the  most  central  places. 

We  passed  a  Sabbath  in  Gawar,  having  a  good  time  there 
in  one  of  the  villages  and  with  our  helpers. 

Up  to  within  eighteen  months  my  health  has  been  very 
good,  and  although  my  work  has  been  trying  because  I  cannot 
limit  it  to  any  hours,  and  feel  that  I  have  any  time  which 
I  can  call  my  own,  I  have  been  able  to  keep  well.  Fearing 
tbat  I  would  soon  see  signs  of  wearing  out,  I  have  made 
several  futile  attempts  to  shut  down  on  my  work.  For  a 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH      129 

year  and  a  half  now,  I  have,  however,  been  losing  strength 
and  nervous  power  till  I  have  become  a  prey  to  malaria,  the 
one  thing  I  had  always  hoped  that  I  was  proof  against.  At 
times  I  have  been  very  well,  and  at  others  I  felt  prostrated 
and  unfit  for  anything,  and  have  suffered  with  sciatica, 
neuralgia,  and  a  few  attacks  of  intermittent  fever.  The 
sciatica  followed  a  very  hasty  and  hard  journey  from  Tiflis 
last  fall,  where  I  had  escorted  Miss  Carey,  having  been  called 
back  to  our  sick  boy.  About  two  months  ago,  at  the  advice 
of  our  Station,  I  closed  the  hospital  for  a  few  weeks  and 
then  tried  Seir  for  a  while,  but  I  am  convinced  that  it  is 
too  much  to  expect  to  get  rest  here  in  Persia,  for,  from  the 
highest  officials  to  the  herdsman,  my  movements  are  known. 
If  at  home,  unless  I  stay  in  my  bed,  I  have  to  see,  or  else 
refuse,  which  is  often  harder,  a  great  many  sick  and  op- 
pressed, while  if  I  go  to  a  village,  the  press  is,  if  possible, 
greater,  and  sick  are  brought  out  along  the  roadsides  which 
they  know  I  must  pass.  All  our  circle  here  in  the  spring 
advised  my  going  off  with  my  family,  but  I  could  not  make 
up  my  mind  that  I  was  not  to  rally,  nor  did  I  wish  to  leave 
my  work,  and  incur  such  great  expense.  It  has  been  my 
hope  and  prayer  that  I  would  have  strength  given  me  to 
continue  at  this  post  at  least  for  ten  years  without  an 
absence,  but  I  am  now  obliged  to  admit  that  unless  I  can 
soon  get  away  from  all  places  where  I  would  be  beset  by 
Persians,  I  must  before  very  long  give  up  my  work  in  toto. 
And  if  I  take  such  a  rest,  I  am  persuaded  that  my  family 
must  be  with  me.  My  wife  has  been  very  well  these  six 
years  in  Persia,  and  a  change  now  would  probably  do  much 
to  keep  her  from  getting  in  the  condition  of  so  many  of 
our  ladies,  while  leaving  her  with  the  children  would  be  a 
cause  of  great  anxiety  to  herself  and  me.  It  is  now  too 
late  to  go  any  distance  and  return  before  winter,  so  my 
proposition  is  this :  Pass  the  balance  of  the  summer  as 
quietly  as  possible  here,  then  in  the  fall,  or  at  the  latest, 
in  the  spring,  go  to  some  place  in  Germany  where,  in  addi- 
tion to  getting  the  rest  and  change  from  my  work,  I  could 
avail  myself  of  the  opportunities  there  afforded  for  study 
and  observation  in  the  medical  colleges  and  hospitals,  re- 
maining there  from  two  to  five  months  as  might  seem 
best. 


130  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

He  was  always  opposed,  however,  to  any  unnecessary 
expenditure  of  Mission  funds.  He  would  never  author- 
ize any  one  to  leave  the  field  for  health  reasons  except 
as  a  last  resort,  and  he  was  very  stern  and  ultra- 
conscientious  with  himself.  In  the  end  he  did  not 
leave  Persia.  He  tried  Seir  and  also  resting  at  a 
simple  little  place  on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  submitting 
to  any  inconveniences  in  the  way  of  living  or  separa- 
tion from  his  family.  His  mother  wrote  from  the 
lake : — 

Your  brother  really  seems  much  better,  but  just  as  soon  as 
we  get  home  they  will  come  for  him.  When  he  went  home  last 
Saturday  night  people  seemed  to  have  divined  it,  for  Sabbath 
a  Khan  in  the  city  sent  for  him  and  the  "  Chief  of  the 
Merchants."  He  returned  here  between  one  and  two  Mon- 
day afternoon.  He  said  he  was  very  tired,  for  he  had  been 
trying  since  5  o'clock  to  get  started.  Twenty  sick  persons 
came  to  him,  and  others  came  on  business.  Two  or  three 
more  weeks  here  would  do  us  good,  but  Joseph  feels  he  will 
not  be  allowed  to  stay. 

I  dread  to  go  back.  It  has  been  a  source  of  great  anxiety 
to  me  to  have  Joseph  work  so  hard.  You  have  little  idea  how 
he  is  pressed  with  the  sick  and  the  poor. 

Accordingly,  in  September  he  went  off  with  his  fam- 
ily to  Tabriz  to  escape  the  press.  The  Mission  ap- 
proved of  his  going  to  Germany,  but,  writes  Mrs. 
Cochran,  "  we  decided  it  was  not  best.  Joseph  seems 
so  much  better  the  past  few  weeks  that  he  thinks  a 
little  longer  rest  now  until  cool  weather  and  then 
work  on  a  different  plan  after  returning  will  enable 
him  to  remain  for  some  time  longer."  On  September 
6th,  she  writes  from  Tabriz :  "  Joe  seems  about  as  he 
did  the  last  few  weeks  at  home.  It  is  hardly  time  to 
tell  yet  whether  this  will  prove  a  good  change  for  him. 
He  can  certainly  rest  here,  and  it  is  not  considered 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     131 

malarious,  the  air  seems  very  different  from  that  at 
home.  Yes,  I  do  know  we  are  being  led  in  the  way 
we  should  go.  At  one  time  we  did  not  get  any  light 
on  our  plans,  and  I  felt  very  anxious  and  unsettled. 
Suddenly,  while  thus  waiting  to  be  guided,  it  occurred 
to  me,  '  Why,  the  Lord  is  leading  you  at  this  very 
moment ;  why  worry  ? '  Sol  have  not  worried  since. 
I  did  not  want  to  come  here,  but  things  seemed  to  lead 
that  way,  and  so  I  came."  The  real  rest  needed  was 
found  in  the  Persian  mountains.  Mrs.  Cochran 
writes : — 

ZENJANAB,  September  23rd,  1884. — We  have  at  last  found 
a  paradise  in  Persia.  Perhaps  it  would  not  seem  so  to  you, 
but  to  us  who  are  accustomed  to  such  a  dry  and  thirsty  land 
this  place  is  a  continual  feast  to  the  eyes.  I  am  seated  flat 
on  the  ground  in  a  large  grassy  place  with  plenty  of  trees 
about,  though  one  prefers  to  sit  in  the  sun,  this  mountain  air 
is  so  fresh.  Among  the  trees  is  a  stream  of  pure  water 
running  over  the  stones.  On  one  side  is  a  stone  wall,  such 
a  pleasant  change  from  mud  ones,  and  in  front  rises  a  high 
mountain.  Snow  mountains  are  not  far  away. 

You  have  no  idea  how  such  a  place  rests  me  and  renews 
my  youth.  It  is  doing  Joe  good,  too.  He  seems  about  the 
strongest  one  of  the  party.  Yesterday  we  rode  to  the  top  of 
a  high  peak  near  the  village,  and  in  the  evening  Joe  and 
I  took  a  ramble  down  the  valley.  On  either  side  of  the 
stream  were  trees,  almost  forests  to  our  eyes,  and  catches  of 
new  mown  clover,  and  such  a  nice,  damp,  woodsy  smell,  yet 
without  malaria,  we  were  sure.  If  we  could  have  only  come 
a  month  earlier  and  camped,  that  would  have  been  perfection. 

Joe  has  improved  very  much  up  here,  and  I  hope  after  a 
few  weeks  he  will  be  ready  for  home  and  work.  He  thinks  he 
can  systematize  his  work  so  that  he  can  do  it  more  easily  and 
not  be  pulled  so,  this  way  and  that. 

He  was  detained  in  Tabriz,  caring  for  the  health  of 
Dr.  Holmes's  daughter  who  had  typhoid  fever,  until 


132  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

November,  and  then  got  back  to  Urumia  in  time  for 
the  Annual  Meeting,  which  was  the  semi-centennial 
celebration  of  the  founding  of  the  Mission.  The  Rev. 
Henry  A.  Nelson,  D.D.,  had  come  out  from  America 
to  be  present.  Mrs.  Cochran  writes: — 


HOME,  November  llth. — These  days  since  reaching  home 
last  week  have  been  so  crowded  full  with  Annual  Meeting 
and  company  that  I  could  not  find  time  to  write  last  week. 
They  have  been  busy  days  but  ones  full  of  enjoyment.  It 
is  so  pleasant  to  see  new  faces  and  hear  new  voices  among 
us.  Dr.  Nelson's  visit  has  been  such  a  treat  to  us  all.  He 
is  so  fatherly,  so  genial ;  he  comes  into  each  family,  and  takes 
the  children  on  his  knee,  and  talks  with  us  each  on  our 
peculiar  work  and  trials.  Then  his  preaching  and  public 
talks  are  like  a  breath  of  the  Christian  life  from  the  home 
land.  I  hardly  know  why,  but  he  brings  the  tears  into  most 
of  our  eyes  whenever  he  speaks,  perhaps  it  makes  us  all 
a  little  homesick.  It  does  us  all  good  to  have  one  among 
us  to  whom  we  can  look  up  and  feel  reverence  for.  If  the 
Board  would  send  out  some  such  man  every  few  years  it 
would  do  a  world  of  good.  ...  A  great  many  went  out 
to  meet  Dr.  Nelson,  most  of  the  helpers  on  horseback,  the 
schoolboys,  and  many  footmen.  The  Governor  sent  out  led 
horses  to  do  him  honour. 


After  this  rest  in  Zenjanab  and  Tabriz  and  the 
Annual  Meeting,  Dr.  Cochran  went  on  with  his  work, 
endeavouring  to  hold  it  a  little  more  in  hand.  On 
January  2nd,  1885,  he  writes :  "  My  hands  are  pretty 
full  in  the  hospital,  but  I  make  an  effort  to  get  out  more 
than  I  used  to.  Dr.  Israel  has  gone  to  Salmas.  Dr. 
Oshanna  is  in  the  hospital.  Two  medical  students 
were  admitted  last  winter.  We  have  a  '  Medical 
Congress '  every  Wednesday  evening." 

As  a  result  of  the  work  of  the  hospital  and  the 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     133 

earnest  efforts  of  the  Mission  in  all  its  branches,  a 
little  band  of  converts  from  Mohammedanism  had  been 
gathered,  and  it  was  hoped  that  with  wise  zeal  a  larger 
work  might  be  done  among  these  men.  But  this  year 
trouble  broke  on  the  little  band.  It  was  turned  aside, 
however,  by  the  friendly  influence  of  the  Governor. 
Mrs.  Cochran's  letters  picture  the  situation  with  the 
liveliness  of  contemporary  interest: — 

JUNE  8th,  1885. — The  little  band  of  Mussulman  converts 
have  been  thrown  into  quite  a  state  of  excitement  by  the 

persecution  of  Mirza  ,  the  one  who  taught  in  the  girls' 

seminary.  A  man  whom  we  dismissed  some  time  ago  be- 
cause he  did  not  seem  to  be  necessary  has  been  troubling 
him,  thinking  we  would  give  money  to  keep  him  quiet. 
Lately  he  has  been  threatening  to  kill  him.  About  a  week 
ago  he  insisted  that  he  must  go  with  him  before  the  Sheikh- 
ul-Islam  and  revile  Christ  and  us.  Mirza  got  away,  and 
came  out  here  to  ask  advice.  Of  course,  we  could  not  bribe 
that  wicked  man  to  keep  quiet.  Mirza  professed  his  willing- 
ness to  go  before  the  Governor  and  declare  himself  a  Chris- 
tian, and  take  the  consequences,  and  I  believe  he  was  truly 
ready  for  it.  But,  of  course,  this  would  involve  all  the  rest 
of  the  little  band,  as  they  would  be  sure  to  ask  if  there 
were  others  who  had  been  baptized.  Had  he  confessed  him- 
self a  Christian,  the  very  least  the  defenders  of  Islam  could 
have  done  would  have  been  to  have  him  terribly  beaten  and 
thrown  into  prison,  and  demand  a  large  fine  for  his  release. 
Then,  if  released,  the  same  process  would  be  repeated  or, 
more  likely,  they  would  have  him  murdered  secretly. 
Under  the  circumstances  the  best  thing  seemed  to  be  to  run 
away.  His  wife  came  out  and  said  good-bye  to  him  that 
afternoon.  Poor  thing!  Being  a  Christian  costs  her  some- 
thing. Mirza  sat  up  most  of  the  night  with  one  or  two 
of  the  converts  who  had  come  out  to  see  him  and  some 
of  the  college  teachers.  They  all  said  they  felt  they  had 
been  near  heaven  hearing  this  man  talk.  Very  early  in  the 
morning,  as  soon  as  the  moon  rose,  he  left  on  our  horses, 
Meshedie  volunteering  to  escort  him. 


134  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

JUNE  27th. — It  seems  that  enough  is  happening  these  days 
to  suit  any  one  with  a  taste  for  excitement,  though  the  ex- 
citement may  seem  of  a  mild  kind  to  you.  In  the  first  place 
we  had  an  operation  here  in  the  house.  .  .  .  While  we  were 
taking  our  breakfast  in  a  very  irregular  way,  all  the  way 
from  seven  to  nine,  Meshedie  appeared,  and  said  the  servants 
of  the  chief  ecclesiastic  of  the  city  had  sent  for  all  of  the 
servants  to  appear  before  him.  They  were  very  persistent, 
but  finally  Joe  got  them  away  by  telling  them  that  the  four 
here  had  work  to  do,  we  could  not  let  them  all  go  off  in  this 
way,  the  others  were  not  in  his  power  to  send.  Besides,  we 
had  no  dealing  with  the  religious  heads  of  the  city;  we  had 
to  do  with  the  civil  authorities,  and  if  they  wanted  these 
men  they  must  get  the  Governor  to  send  for  them.  I  do  not 
know  what  they  will  do  further;  probably  these  converts 
will  go  away  as  quickly  as  they  can  now  to  Russia  or  else- 
where. It  looks  as  though  a  crisis  had  come  in  our  Mussul- 
man work.  How  much  strength  these  poor  converts  need! 
Would  we  be  able  to  stand  up  and  face  death  by  confessing 
Christ?  I  hope  so,  but  if  these  poor  half -taught  people 
quail,  we  ought  not  to  think  too  hardly  of  them.  I  think 
that  Joe  will  write  to  the  Salar  (now  Amir)  this  week,  but 
I  suppose  he  could  not  openly  defend  the  lives  of  converts 
from  Islam. 

JULY  25th. — I  was  going  to  tell  you  more  about  Mirza. 
The  day  of  the  Jubilee  he  appeared  on  the  scenes,  although 
he  had  been  specially  warned  not  to  return  to  Urumia  at 
present.  He  said  as  there  were  obstacles  constantly  rising 
to  prevent  his  going  further  on,  and  as  he  could  not  take  his 
family,  he  concluded  perhaps  God  wanted  him  to  return. 
Besides  he  said  he  could  not  feel  right  about  it.  He  felt 
like  a  coward  to  be  running  away.  So  he  concluded  to 
return  and  go  about  his  business.  If  the  Governor  sent  for 
him  he  would  go  and  tell  him  he  was  a  Christian,  perhaps 
the  Lord  wanted  him  to  be  the  first  martyr  in  Urumia. 
Towards  night,  just  as  the  Jubilee  people  were  departing, 
the  Governor  did  send  for  the  whole  company  to  appear 
before  him  next  morning.  We  each  in  our  own  homes  were 
praying  for  them.  No  one  ran  away  during  the  night. 
They  all  went  to  the  Governor  about  nine  in  the  morning. 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     135 

They  appeared  before  the  Governor,  the  Sheikh-ul-Islam,  and 
several  of  the  ecclesiastics.  The  Governor  first  asked  them 
if  they  were  "  Giaour  "  (infidels).  "  No,"  replied  Mirza,  "  we 
are  no  infidels,  we  believe  in  God."  "  Do  you  eat  the  bread 
of  Christians  ?  "  asked  the  Governor.  "  We  do,"  they  replied. 
"Do  you  drink  their  water?"  "We  do,"  they  said.  "Do 
you  wash  your  mouths  afterwards  ? "  "  We  do  not."  The 
Governor,  for  some  reason,  seemed  to  be  very  anxious  not 
to  have  any  test  question  put;  whenever  the  others  seemed 
to  be  getting  too  near  the  point,  he  would  turn  them  off  on 
another  track,  so  that  really  no  questions  were  asked  them 
of  any  importance.  At  length  the  Governor  said,  "  You 
have  told  the  truth.  You  are  excused."  The  Governor 
seems  to  be  very  anxious  to  avoid  any  tumult  in  the  city, 
and  I  presume  is  not  unmindful  of  the  friendship  the  Mis- 
sion has  always  had  with  him  and  his  father  before  him. 
Thus  ended  that  excitement. 

In  July  the  evangelical  Church  among  the  Nestorians 
celebrated  the  Jubilee  which  the  Mission  had  celebrated 
the  preceding  fall.  Between  1,600  and  1,700  people 
were  present,  850  of  them  women,  and  the  whole  occa- 
sion was  a  demonstration  to  the  people  themselves,  as 
well  as  to  the  missionaries  and  the  Moslem  rulers,  of 
the  beneficent  influence  of  the  Mission.  Mrs.  Cochran's 
home  letters  described  the  celebration: — 

URUMIA,  July  17th,  1885. — A  great  booth  was  erected  be- 
tween the  college  and  the  bake  house,  the  east  side  of  the 
college,  extending  the  whole  length  of  the  building  and 
beyond.  The  platform  was  by  the  college,  and  on  it  sat  our 
gentlemen,  the  Kashas,  and  some  guests.  The  ground  was 
covered  with  hay,  and  carpets  spread  over  it.  On  these  sat 
the  people,  the  men  on  one  side,  and  the  women  on  the 
other.  The  booth  was  in  charge  of  Mr.  Labaree,  and  the 
seating  was  quietly  managed  by  young  men  ushers  with 
silver  stars  in  their  hats  as  a  badge  of  office.  The  sight  of 
such  an  audience  was  very  affecting  to  most  of  us,  when 
we  thought  what  they  were  fifty  years  ago,  and  now  to  see 


136  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

them  sitting  so  quietly,  listening  so  attentively  for  hours, 
their  clothes  so  clean,  their  faces  so  intelligent.  It  really 
was  a  grand  sight;  it  showed  the  results  of  missionary  work 
more  than  anything  we  have  seen  before.  The  women's  side 
was  a  pretty  sight,  the  white,  blue,  and  pink  head  dresses, 
and  every  one  so  clean  and  fresh,  and  when  they  rose  to  sing 
it  was  such  a  wave  of  colour.  Very  few  children  were  pres- 
ent, and  they  were  kept  at  one  side,  so  that  they  did  not 
disturb  the  meeting.  The  yards  were  in  Dr.  Cochran's 
charge,  and  he  had  his  police  force  of  twelve  schoolboys 
and  twelve  village  people,  a  gilt  star  on  the  lapel  being  their 
badge.  The  government  sent  out  five  soldiers  to  guard  the 
premises,  and  they  came  very  soon,  requesting  stars,  too, 
so  that  they  might  be  as  fine  as  the  rest. 

The  evening  meeting  was  quite  impressive.  The  great 
booth  was  lighted  with  candles,  and  it  was  a  pretty  sight 
as  we  looked  upon  the  gathering  from  behind  the  audience. 
There  was  some  earnest  speaking.  At  ten  the  meeting  broke 
up,  and  from  that  time  till  twelve,  Dr.  Cochran  was  very  busy 
getting  people  in  their  places  for  the  night.  The  women 
were  all  put  in  the  college  enclosure ;  some  slept  in  the  college 
rooms,  some  in  the  tent,  two  elderly  men  being  put  to 
guard  the  two  entrances.  Some  of  the  older  and  more  feeble 
men  were  lodged  in  the  empty  rooms  of  Mr.  Rogers's  house. 
There  were  some  in  the  vacant  hospital  rooms,  some  in  tents, 
and  a  great  number  on  the  lawns,  without  other  shelter  than 
the  tent.  We  did  not  attempt  to  furnish  bedding.  They 
brought  some  themselves,  though  the  majority  had  nothing, 
and  so  rather  avoided  the  roofs  on  account  of  the  cold  winds. 

However,  they  all  had  on  plenty  of  clothes,  for  of  course 
all  that  they  bought  new  for  this  occasion  was  put  on  over  the 
old  clothes.  Some  women  I  knew  had  on  three  dresses. 
Some  of  them,  I  think,  did  not  go  to  bed  at  all,  but  patron- 
ized the  tea  stand  all  night.  .  .  .  One  accident  occurred 
in  the  night.  One  woman  in  the  college  fainted.  Her 
friends  began  to  scream,  and  immediately  the  whole  crowd 
of  men  in  the  yards  rushed  into  the  avenue,  talking,  shout- 
ing, a  perfect  babel  of  sounds.  My  husband  and  I  awoke 
very  much  startled,  and  he  was  down  in  the  yard  in  about 
half  a  minute.  We  thought  the  Mussulmans  had  brought 
a  mob  upon  us  at  first,  but  when  the  true  cause  of  the  com- 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH      137 

motion  was  ascertained,  the  noise  soon  subsided.  At  sunrise, 
there  was  a  prayer  meeting  for  the  women  on  Dr.  Shedd's 
lawn,  and  the  graduates  of  the  female  seminary  gathered 
in  the  college  chapel.  I  attended  a  part  of  the  latter  meet- 
ing. About  seventy  were  present.  I  was  especially  inter- 
ested in  hearing  Selby  of  Marbeshu  speak.  She  was  the 
first  scholar  in  the  seminary,  the  one  whom  Mar  Yohannan 
took  by  the  hand  and  brought  to  Miss  Fiske,  his  niece,  I 
believe.  She  is  now  quite  old  and  grey-haired.  She  made 
an  earnest  plea  for  more  help  for  the  women  of  the  moun- 
tains. Just  before  the  evening  meeting  in  the  booth  Mrs. 
Shedd  and  I  gathered  the  collectors  of  the  mite  society  in 
my  parlour,  and  tried  to  encourage  them  to  increase  the 
number  of  givers  in  their  different  villages  this  Jubilee 
year.  There  are  now  210  members.  We  also  had  a  talk  with 
the  five  leaders  of  the  women's  meetings  to  be  held  next  week 
on  the  different  rivers. 

The  City  Governor  was  invited  to  be  present,  but  could 
not  on  account  of  its  being  the  Mussulman  feast,  but  the 
Sarparast,  or  governor  appointed  to  look  after  the  interests 
of  the  Christians,  drove  out,  and  sat  in  our  parlour  as  they 
all  went  by  to  tea  in  the  lower  garden.  He  was  very  much 
astonished  to  learn  that  the  majority  of  the  women  even 
could  read.  He  said,  "  I  know  the  Mussulmans ;  I  know 
the  Jews;  I  know  the  Catholics;  I  know  the  Old  Church 
people,  but  your  people  are  very  much  better,  very  different 
from  all  the  rest." 

Mar  Shimon,  the  Patriarch,  sent  a  man  down  to  bear  his 
good  wishes,  but  he  arrived  a  day  too  late.  We  had  him  here 
to  breakfast  this  morning,  gorgeous  in  his  blue  loose  trousers, 
finely  embroidered  with  all  the  colours  of  the  rainbow.  A 
committee  has  been  appointed  to  put  into  a  book  all  the 
historical  papers  of  this  occasion,  and  then  as  many  as 
choose  will  write  their  names  in  this  book,  and  give  as 
many  shahies  as  they  have  lived  years  as  a  Jubilee  offering. 

In  the  autumn  Dr.  Cochran  started  for  a  trip  in 
the  Kurdish  mountains,  but  was  called  back  after  a  few 
days  by  sickness.  The  following  spring,  however,  he 
made  up  for  this  disappointment  by  a  visit  with  his 


138  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

wife  to  Van  to  attend  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Eastern  Turkey  Mission  of  the  American  Congrega- 
tionalists,  to  consider  the  establishment  of  a  joint  sta- 
tion in  the  mountains  from  which  the  Congregational 
missionaries  could  reach  the  Armenian  population,  and 
the  Presbyterian  missionaries  the  Nestorians  and 
Kurds.  The  plan  did  not  seem  feasible  at  the  time, 
not,  however,  because  of  any  lack  of  harmony  of  feeling 
and  unity  of  mind  between  the  missionaries  and  the 
Boards  which  they  represented.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cochran 
greatly  enjoyed  the  social  side  of  this  visit.  Mrs. 
Cochran  writes: — 

VAN,  TURKEY,  May  27th,  1886. — Just  imagine  how  good 
it  seems  to  see  so  many  people.  We  are  having  such  a 
good  time.  I  enjoy  the  meetings  and  the  prayer  meetings, 
and  comparing  notes  on  work  and  the  laughing  we  do  at 
table  does  us  perhaps  as  much  good  as  any  one  thing.  Yes- 
terday was  a  very  full  day.  I  cannot  begin  to  tell  you  of 
all  the  feasts,  spiritual,  mental,  and  physical  that  we  are 
having.  In  the  morning  we  had  communion  in  English.  At 
12 :30  there  was  a  meeting  in  the  chapel,  and  all  the  gentlemen 
made  short  addresses,  Joe  in  Turkish.  The  people  came  in 
such  crowds  that  the  chapel  was  filled  with  men  before  a 
single  woman  found  a  place  there.  Finally,  Miss  Ely  took 
the  women  into  the  girls'  school,  and  had  a  meeting  there, 
but  they  say  that  nearly  500  went  away  for  lack  of  room. 
One  night  the  English  consul  invited  us  all  to  dinner.  The 
company  was  a  high  mix.  There  were  present  English  and 
Americans,  Canadians,  two  French  monks,  a  Greek,  the 
Turkish  Pasha,  the  Persian  consul,  who  seemed  very  glad  to 
see  us,  besides  Armenians.  The  dinner  was  a  prolonged 
affair,  but  the  chief  enjoyment  was  the  music.  The  Turkish 
Pasha  brought  his  military  band,  and  it  played  most  of  the 
evening,  much  to  our  delight.  It  is  the  only  good  band 
music  I  have  heard  since  leaving  Germany. 

The  remaining  letters  before  the  departure  of  the 
family  for  America,  in  the  spring  of  1888,  show  the 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     139 

steady  development  of  Dr.  Cochran's  influence,  the 
place  he  was  helping  to  win  for  the  work  in  the  regard 
of  the  people,  high  and  low,  and  the  Christian  hospital- 
ity and  large-mindedness  which  he  displayed  toward 
certain  new  factors  in  the  missionary  situation  which 
entered  the  field  in  the  summer  of  1886 : — 

HOME,  June  16th,  1886. — We  are  safely  home  again  from 
Van.  We  did  have  such  a  good  time.  The  meeting  was 
very  pleasant  and  harmonious.  The  natives  are  complaining 
of  Dr.  Reynolds  because  he  does  not  practice,  but  of  course 
he  has  not  had  time,  being  the  only  man  of  the  Station. 
He  gave  out  that  a  doctor  was  coming  from  Persia  who 
would  treat  all,  and  you  should  have  seen  the  crowds!  We 
had  Dr.  Oshanna  with  us,  and  he  did  most  of  the  work, 
though  Joe  saw  a  good  many.  One  of  the  schoolgirls  said  to 
Joe  in  English,  "  You  are  like  Jesus,  and  the  people  are  all 
coming  to  you."  At  last  the  Turks  put  a  stop  to  it,  saying 
they  could  not  practice  unless  they  showed  their  diplomas, 
which,  of  course,  were  not  at  hand. 

I  have  been  home  just  a  week,  but  I  seem  to  be  in  business, 
and  have  given  a  dinner  for  General  Wagner  and  the  whole 
Mission.  General  Wagner  arrived  on  Wednesday.  Not  long 
after  the  general  appeared  in  our  yards,  he  and  Joe  met 
in  the  avenue,  and  he  kissed  Joe  on  both  cheeks.  We  had 
lunch  for  him  yesterday  noon,  dinner  at  night,  and  he  re- 
mained until  this  morning.  The  general  leaves  on  Monday. 
The  Shah  has  sent  him  on  a  tour  of  inspection  of  all  troops 
and  defences,  military  stores,  etc. 

JULY  9th. — Somehow  we  seem  to  manage  to  live  in  about 
as  much  of  a  rush  as  you  do  in  America.  We  return,  and 
before  I  am  fairly  unpacked,  we  give  dinners,  etc.  Next  we 
rush  off  to  the  lake,  after  a  week  we  return,  breakfast  at 
sunrise,  and  reach  here  at  nine  to  find  College  Commence- 
ment, Alumni  Meeting,  women's  meetings,  etc.,  in  full  blast, 
a  sort  of  second  Jubilee. 

Tbe  graduates  have  organized  a  regular  Alumni  Associa- 
tion, with  Malek  Yonan,  of  Geogtapa,  president.  They  had 
divided  themselves  into  three  divisions,  one  to  discuss  the 


140  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

spiritual  condition  of  the  people,  one  the  educational,  and 
the  last  the  industrial.  Thursday  afternoon  those  divisions 
submitted  their  reports.  Not  much  was  said  on  the  first 
two  heads;  they  had  been  pretty  fully  discussed  before,  but 
I  never  saw  this  Nestorian  people  so  waked  up  as  on  that  last 
head.  Joe  read  the  report  of  that  committee  or  rather 
opened  the  discussion  on  the  subject.  The  plan  is  to  intro- 
duce more  trades  here  for  Nestorian  boys  to  learn,  to  teach 
the  people  to  be  busy,  not  idle  all  winter,  so  as  to  have 
more  thrift  and  not  to  be  so  ground  down  by  poverty  and 
debt. 

There  were  many  schemes  proposed;  the  committee  will 
work  them  up.  Some  were  quite  wild.  Most  were  more 
moderate  and  content  with  a  small  beginning.  For  one 
thing,  I  think  they  will  introduce  silk  worms — we  have 
plenty  of  mulberry  trees,  you  know — and  go  into  silk  manu- 
facture. Another  plan  will  be  to  send  some  one  to  Tiflis 
to  learn  to  make  good  leather  and  shoes,  and  return  as 
teacher.  Another  is  to  learn  improvements  in  iron  work. 
Nearly  100  tomans  were  subscribed  to  aid  in  this  work.  I 
never  saw  our  people  so  waked  up  before. 

AUGUST  13th. — There  have  been  two  arrivals  this  week 
which  I  must  tell  you  about.  Joe  came  down  from  Seir  very 
early  Monday  morning  to  meet  the  Prince,  who  was  to 
arrive  two  hours  after  sunrise.  He  is  a  son  of  Fath-ali 
Shah,  or  great  uncle  of  the  present  Shah.  He  comes  to 
inspect  things  here  and  appoint  a  Governor  for  TJrumia. 
Most  of  the  Khans  of  the  city  went  out  to  Issi  Su,  beyond 
Gavalan,  to  meet  him.  All  the  villages  were  ordered  out 
with  sheep  for  sacrifice,  and  the  roads  would  have  run  with 
blood,  but  when  he  came  in  he  gave  orders  that  no  slaughter- 
ing should  be  done.  Joe  met  him  at  Gerdabad,  the  first 
village  out.  The  Prince  stopped  his  carriage  and  the  whole 
procession,  and  talked  with  him  about  half  an  hour.  He 
said  that  General  Wagner  had  recommended  the  Americans 
and  their  work  to  his  love  and  care.  He  then  excused  Joe, 
and  told  him  not  to  follow  in  the  dust,  but  to  leave  him, 
and  go  home  a  shorter  way.  Now,  just  as  a  specimen  of 
the  way  things  go  in  this  country,  I  must  tell  you  one 
outcome  of  this  honourable  reception.  The  people  of 


FIRST  TEKM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH      141 

Haiderlu,  the  village  below  Seir  on  the  mountain,  have 
been  oppressing  Khubyar  of  Seir,  taking  his  clover,  etc. 
Now  when  the  Haiderlu  people  saw  that  the  "  Hakim  Sahib  " 
was  in  favour  with  the  Prince,  they  no  longer  dared  to 
oppress  one  of  our  men,  and  sent  to  fix  up  the  business 
quickly.  The  Prince  has  his  quarters  in  a  garden  near  us. 
When  our  gentlemen  sent  to  ask  when  they  might  call,  the 
Prince  replied,  "  Come  now,  come  this  afternoon,  or  any 
time  during  the  night,  or  to-morrow;  my  door  is  always 
open  to  you."  He  does  not  receive  the  presents  which  people 
always  send  such  great  people.  The  first  tray  of  sweetmeats 
and  fruit  which  came,  he  threw  out  the  window,  dishes  and 
all.  A  princely  way  of  signifying,  I  suppose,  that  such 
things  were  not  required.  He  has  about  a  thousand  people 
with  him,  and  large  numbers  of  camels  and  horses,  etc.  As 
I  write  I  can  hear  the  cannon  booming  away,  which  means 
that  the  Prince  is  entering  the  city. 

Now  I  must  tell  you  about  the  other  arrival.  The  same 
day  the  long-expected  Englishmen  (of  the  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury's  Mission  to  the  Nestorians)  arrived.  We  did 
not  know  what  day  they  would  come  in  or  Joe  would  have 
met  them.  I  think  I  wrote  you  that  they  declined  our 
invitation  to  come  directly  here.  The  next  day  Dr.  Shedd 
and  Joe  called.  They  were  dressed  in  robes.  They  were 
very  pleasant  and  seemed  very  cordial  and  gentlemanly.  In 
a  social  way  I  presume  they  will  be  an  addition  to  society 
here.  In  the  evening  quite  a  number  of  Old  Church  people 
gathered  in  their  yard,  and  they  treated  them  all  to  wine. 
They  went  into  the  old  church  in  Mart-Mariam,  kissed  the 
crucifix,  and  worshipped  in  High  Church  style.  They  were 
to  have  called  to-day.  I  mean  to  invite  them  soon  to  dinner. 

NOVEMBER  14th. — Thursday  evening  we  had  the  English 
gentlemen  here  to  dinner.  They  are  very  pleasant  socially, 
and  it  does  us  good  to  meet  those  outside  our  own  circle. 

The  children  have  earned  enough  money  to  buy  a  Testa- 
ment for  little  Michael,  the  boy  whose  leg  Joe  amputated. 
Joe  saw  him  on  his  mountain  trip,  and  said  he  was  very 
well  and  ran  about  on  the  rocks  with  his  crutches.  Joe 
met  many  of  his  old  patients  in  the  dark  places  among  the 
mountains,  and  the  helpers  say  that  returned  patients  are 


142  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

always  their  firm  supporters.  Those  who  never  thought  of 
attending  service  before  were  always  present.  The  Van 
patients  hare  returned  home.  We  could  not  tell  whether 
that  little  boy  could  see  or  not;  there  was  still  some  inflam- 
mation, and  he  kept  his  eyes  tightly  closed  all  the  time.  We 
shall  hear  soon,  no  doubt. 

JANUARY  4th,  1887. — Several  days  ago  a  little  boy  died  in 
the  hospital  of  diphtheria.  He  was  brought  for  a  bad  sore, 
and  this  disease  suddenly  developed.  We  learned  that  his 
brother  died  of  it  the  week  before,  but  his  mother  did  not 
tell,  as  she  feared  he  would  not  be  admitted.  So  you  can 
imagine  our  anxiety  when,  last  Friday,  our  children  began 
to  complain  of  sore  throat.  The  Mission  is  still  in  a  rather 
sorry  condition  as  to  health.  Joe  is  kept  busy  going  from 
one  of  his  patients  to  another.  He  feels  the  responsibility 
very  much,  and  it  is  wearing  on  him.  I  wish  that  Dr. 
Holmes  might  come  over  so  that  Joe  might  consult  with 
some  one,  but  he  cannot  leave  yet. 

JANUARY  22nd. — Dr.  Holmes  has  arrived,  and  it  is  such  a 
comfort  to  Joe  to  have  him  here.  Emma  still  continues 
very  ill  and  suffers  terribly.  Joe  has  been  with  her  for  the 
last  ten  nights,  and  is  getting  quite  worn  out.  H  we  only 
had  a  trained  nurse! 

SEIR,  July  29th. — I  am  enjoying  this  rest  ever  so  much, 
but  it  is  not  complete  without  Joe.  He  has  remained  but 
two  days  in  succession  so  far.  He  made  many  plans  about 
it,  was  going  to  play  with  his  children,  and  walk  with 
them,  and  read  to  them,  but  nothing  has  been  realized  in 
that  line  so  far.  Joe  had  a  letter  from  General  Wagner. 
He  is  still  trying  to  get  him  a  decoration  from  the  Shah, 
although  Joe  has  plainly  told  him  he  does  not  wish  one. 
He  says,  "  Dear  doctor,  you  have  more  Persian  merits  as 
any  other  man,  and  so  have  I  explicated  to  Mr.  Pratt "  (the 
American  minister). 

With  all  his  cares  he  found  time  for  the  love  of  home 
and  children,  and  across  the  years  his  eldest  son 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     143 

recalls  the  simplicity  and  strength  of  the  father's  train- 
ing and  influence  in  the  household: — 

Among  the  earliest  recollections  of  my  father  is  that  of 
his  telling  stories  to  us  children.  When  a  very  small  child 
I  used  to  delight  in  having  him  sit  beside  me  after  I  had  gone 
to  bed,  and  tell  me  "just  one  story."  These  would  usually 
be  in  connection  with  his  day's  work,  some  incident  at  the 
hospital,  or  on  the  way  to  and  from  the  city,  or  some 
village.  My  favourite  was  the  "  fox  story,"  which  I  believe 
I  heard  a  dozen  times.  This  is  about  a  fox  which  father 
had  seen  on  one  of  his  rides.  I  never  tired  of  hearing  about 
its  "  soft  fur  and  its  little  shining  white  teeth,"  and,  child- 
like, was  not  satisfied  if  the  description  was  altered  in  any 
way.  When  I  was  older  we  children  used  to  listen  with  great 
interest  to  the  famous  stories  of  the  Kurdish  War.  Even 
though  rushed  and  tired  father  often  took  time  of  an 
evening  for  a  story  or  a  game  with  us.  No  father  could 
have  been  more  devoted  and  sympathetic.  Never  did  he 
speak  a  cross  or  unkind  word  to  his  children;  a  rebuke 
was  always  given  in  a  gentle  but  dignified  way.  As  far 
back  as  I  can  remember  it  was  a  custom  in  our  family  to 
take  a  walk  Sunday  afternoon.  Father  was  often  called 
away,  but  as  far  as  possible  he  planned  his  work  so  as  to 
have  that  time  free  with  his  family.  If  it  was  spring  the 
garden  was  visited,  and  we  children  each  chose  a  little  plot 
of  our  own,  and  discussed  what  was  to  be  planted,  and 
watched  the  growth  with  great  interest  from  week  to  week. 
Often  we  took  longer  walks,  going  up  the  river  valley  in 
the  direction  of  the  snow-capped  Tergawars,  arid  if  it  was  a 
very  clear  day  we  could  see  the  tops  of  the  Sahends,  near 
Tabriz.  My  father  is  so  closely  associated  in  my  mind  with 
every  walk  and  ride  that  I  never  recall  one  without  thinking 
of  him.  He  was  such  a  necessary  member  of  any  expedi- 
tion, none  was  complete  without  'his  presence.  I  always  had 
a  sense  of  perfect  security  and  happiness  when  with  him. 

In  1887  the  Shah  bestowed  upon  Dr.  Cochran  and 
Dr.  Holmes  decorations  of  the  Second  Class  of  the 
Order  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun  of  Persia.  On  Novem- 


144  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

ber  19th,  1887,  the  American  Minister  in  Teheran,  the 
Hon.  E.  Spencer  Pratt,  wrote  to  Dr.  Cochran : — 

I  take  pleasure  in  informing  you  that  you  have  been 
decorated  by  His  Imperial  Majesty,  the  Shah,  with  the 
Second  Class  of  the  Order  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun  of 
Persia. 

The  Imperial  Firman  announcing  your  appointment  in 
the  Order,  as  well  as  the  two  Stars,  insignia  thereof,  have 
been  sent  me  to-day,  and  these  I  shall  transmit  to  you  as 
soon  as  I  can  find  a  safe  and  reliable  means  of  so  doing. 

You  were  not  previously  advised  of  any  efforts  in  this 
direction  because  it  was  thought  best,  until  these  had  suc- 
ceeded, to  keep  the  matter  secret. 

The  Imperial  Firman  of  the  Shah,  granting  the  deco- 
ration, was  as  follows: — 

God  is  He  Whose  Dignity  is  Most  High. 

The  Universe  belongs  to  the  Most  High  God. 

Since  the  hand  of  Nasr  ed  Din  took  the  signet,  justice 
and  equity  have  extended  from  the  moon  to  the  fish  (filled 
the  earth). 

The  Domain  is  the  Most  High  God's. 

The  Royal  Command  is  Issued. 

Because  of  the  happy  relations  existing  between  the  dis- 
tinguished Powers  of  Persia  and  America,  and  because  of 
the  desire  to  extend  Royal  Favours  to  the  exalted  and 
sagacious  Dr.  Cochran,  in  this,  the  swine  year,  we  confer 
glory  and  honour  upon  him  by  bestowing  the  decoration 
of  the  Stars  of  the  second  degree  of  the  "  Grand  Order  of 
the  Lion  and  the  Sun,"  wherewith,  having  ornamented  his 
esteemed  bosom,  he  shall  be  glorious  and  exalted. 

Written  in  the  Month  of  Saffar,  and  in  the  year  of  the  1305. 

On  April  7th,  1888,  the  family  started  for  America 
on  furlough.  His  last  letter  before  leaving  referred  to 
the  arrangements  made  for  his  work  and  to  the  con- 
ditions in  the  mountains  and  Urumia : — 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     145 

It  is  not  by  any  means  with  unmixed  pleasure  that  we 
now  break  up  our  home  and  quit  the  work  for  a  time.  We 
anticipate  a  pleasant  and  profitable  visit  to  America,  espe- 
cially for  me  professionally,  but  both  Mrs.  Cochran  and  I 
would  like  still  better  to  stay  right  on  and  labour  here  con- 
tinuously, were  it  advisable.  I  have  for  some  time  cherished 
the  hope  of  stopping  two  or  three  months  in  England  and 
Scotland,  for  the  sake  of  looking  into  their  hospital  and 
medical  colleges,  on  my  way  to  America.  It  is  a  great 
advantage  for  a  physician  resident  in  the  East  to 
have  some  knowledge  of  English  or  European  men  and 
teaching.  .  .  . 

Messrs.  Coan  and  McDowell  got  off  for  their  mountain 
trip  three  days  ago,  going  via  Mosul,  the  only  way  open 
at  this  season.  We  sent  a  messenger  yesterday  to  over- 
take them  and  carry  the  news  just  received  that  $3,000 
more  had  been  sent  for  the  famine,  authorizing  them  to 
draw  $1,000  if  they  found  an  urgent  need  in  the  districts 
visited. 

All  eyes  are  on  the  lookout  to  see  if  the  locust  eggs, 
deposited  on  the  hills  two  days'  journey  to  the  south  of  us, 
will  hatch  or  not.  There  is  a  hope  entertained  that  they 
are  destroyed  by  the  light  fall  of  snow  this  winter,  which 
has  exposed  them  to  the  changes  of  the  temperature.  In 
case  the  locusts  do  not  appear,  this  district  will  be  very  well 
off  for  grain,  both  in  old  and  new;  and  the  price  will  fall 
to  half  or  a  third  what  it  is  now. 

They  travelled  via  Batoum  and  Constantinople,  stop- 
ping a  few  days  at  the  latter  place,  and  then  going  on 
through  Athens,  Corfu,  Naples,  Rome,  Milan,  and 
Lucerne  to  London,  where  he  was  present  at  the  mar- 
riage of  Miss  Emma  Cochran  to  Mr.  Ponafidine  of  the 
Imperial  Russian  consular  service.  They  spent  some 
weeks  in  London,  where  Dr.  Cochran  attended  the 
World  Missionary  Conference  and  spent  some  time  in 
English  schools  and  hospitals,  in  accordance  with  a 
plan  of  which  he  had  written  from  Urumia  before 
starting : — 


146  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

SEIR,  August  24th,  1887. — I  am  very  anxious  to  carry 
out  a  plan  long  cherished  of  stopping  from  two  to  four 
months  in  England  or  Scotland,  either  going  or  coming, 
to  get  what  I  can  in  that  time  of  knowledge  of  medical  and 
surgical  practice  as  taught  in  the  English  and  Scotch  schools 
and  hospitals.  I  am  anticipating  rare  practical  benefit  from 
my  visit  to  America,  but  a  few  months  in  English  schools 
and  hospitals  will  do  what  America  cannot  for  me  in  my 
work.  My  education  so  far  and  all  my  medical  journals 
are  American.  What  contact  I  have  now  with  educated 
physicians,  Dr.  Holmes  excepted,  is  with  English  or  Euro- 
peans. American  authorities  are  for  the  most  part  unknown 
by  my  colleagues. 


They  reached  New  York  in  July,  and  after  brief 
visits  in  the  East,  including  some  days  with  Mr. 
Clement  in  the  Adirondacks,  went  to  Minneapolis, 
where  Mrs.  Cochran  and  the  children  remained,  and 
where,  during  the  furlough,  the  third  child,  Harry,  was 
born.  The  first  three  months  of  1889  he  spent  in 
Buffalo  and  New  York  studying  new  methods  in  med- 
ical and  surgical  practice,  and  in  the  spring  made  a 
trip  to  California  with  his  mother,  by  the  Canadian 
Pacific,  to  visit  his  sister,  Mrs.  Scott.  He  was  a  born 
traveller  and  keenly  enjoyed  the  sights  of  America 
after  his  ten  years'  absence.  "  He  often  used  to  re- 
mark," wrote  one  of  his  sisters-in-law,  "  that  such  and 
such  things  that  he  had  seen  would  be  so  interesting 
to  tell  of  to  his  Persian  friends.  All  that  he  stored 
up  of  pleasure  and  interest  was  given  out  again  to  those 
less  favoured  when  he  went  back  again  to  Persia.  Most 
of  the  summer  he  and  his  family  spent  at  Lake  Minne- 
tonka.  It  was  the  special  delight  of  my  nieces  to  get 
their  Uncle  Joseph  to  tell  exciting  tales  of  adventures 
in  Persia  as  they  sat  on  the  piazza  summer  evenings. 
He  was  always  able  to  interest  and  fascinate  children 


FIRST  TERM  ENDED  AND  FURLOUGH     147 

and  young  people  by  the  '  true  stories '  he  could  tell. 
Towards  the  last  of  the  summer  he  told  them  he  sup- 
posed he  should  have  to  go  back  to  Persia  and  have 
some  hairbreadth  escapes  in  order  to  satisfy  their  de- 
mands for  stories." 

He  spent  a  good  deal  of  time  while  at  home  hunting 
for  a  medical  man  to  work  in  the  Kurdish  mountains 
among  the  mountain  Nestorians  in  whom,  as  has  al- 
ready appeared  and  we  shall  see  later,  he  had  the  deep- 
est interest.  On  the  various  trips  which  he  made  for 
the  Board  on  this  errand,  interviewing  men,  he  charged 
the  Board  only  the  bare  railroad  expenses,  not  even 
including  meals  or  sleeping  cars.  He  had  an  extreme 
sense  of  honour  in  these  things,  and  chose  deliberately 
to  incur  loss  himself  in  order  to  save  Mission  funds 
at  every  point.  And  his  course  was  not  due  to  his 
having  any  money  of  his  own.  In  submitting  an 
account  to  the  Board  he  asked  that  if  it  was  right  it 
might  be  covered  at  once  as  he  had  had  to  borrow  the 
money  for  the  journey.  The  fact  that  he  was  acting 
as  a  trustee  made  him  rigidly  scrupulous.  He  was 
not  the  kind  of  man  who  indulges  in  extravagance 
because  some  one  else  pays  for  it.  He  worked  for  a 
time  in  Buffalo  on  a  plan  for  securing  an  endowment 
of  $30,000  for  the  hospital,  but  when  he  found  that  it 
would  absorb  some  of  the  Board's  regular  revenues 
he  at  once  dropped  it.  "  I  feel  sure  that  I  have  not 
so  far  lessened  the  Board's  receipts  materially,  for  I 
have  spoken  some  twenty-three  times  here  and  else- 
where, and  got  $4.00 !  In  nearly  all  the  places  I  have 
simply  reported  to  persons,  societies,  and  churches  the 
work  to  which  they  had  contributed,  asking  nothing 
for  the  future  or  for  new  work."  He  was  entirely  too 
modest  and  self -repressive,  too  reticent  about  anything 


148  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

that  he  had  done  or  that  God  had  done  through  him, 
to  be  a  success  as  a  solicitor  of  funds,  directly  or  in- 
directly. He  lacked  entirely  the  faculty  of  advertise- 
ment of  himself  or  his  work,  or  of  appeal  for  himself, 
or  his  own  interest,  and  he  was  too  conscientious  to 
gain  by  another's  loss  or  to  promote  his  own  concerns 
at  the  possible  expense  of  the  concerns  of  others.  He 
was  specially  anxious,  however,  to  get  the  money  for 
an  annex  to  the  hospital,  to  be  used  as  a  women's  ward. 
A  few  months  before  sailing  he  received  from  Mrs. 
George  Howard,  of  Buffalo,  a  gift  of  $2,000  for  this  pur- 
pose, and  the  Howard  Annex  was  built  on  his  return  to 
Urumia. 

People  became  profoundly  interested  in  him  and  his 
work  wherever  he  went,  in  spite  of  his  quietness  and 
unobtrusiveness.  The  quality  of  the  man  and  the  dis- 
tinction that  hung  about  him  were  too  obvious  to  be 
hidden  entirely,  and  those  who  came  to  know  him  dis- 
covered that  the  missionary  work  commanded  the  high- 
est type  of  manhood  and  devotion. 


«  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  " 

ON  October  1st,  1889,  Dr.  Cochran,  with  his  fam- 
ily, sailed  for  Persia,  going  by  way  of  London, 
Vienna,  and  Constantinople.    He  reached  home 
in    Urumia    on    November    16th.     The    hospital    was 
opened  immediately,  and  work  with  his  three  young 
medical  students  was  resumed.    All  classes  greeted  his 
return  with  joy,  and  the  new  Governor,  who  had  come 
during  his  furlough,  was  greatly  interested  in  him. 
Dr.  Labaree  wrote  a  fortnight  after  his  arrival : — 

I  would  mention  first  the  welcome  arrival  of  Dr.  Cochran 
with  his  mother  and  his  family.  They  have  had  a  hard 
journey  and  were  much  fatigued  on  arriving.  Their  greet- 
ing was  a  most  hearty  one,  not  from  the  missionary  circle 
only,  but  from  great  numbers  of  native  friends  within  and 
without  our  evangelical  churches,  and  even  outside  of  the 
Christian  community,  many  Mohammedans,  both  of  the 
highest  and  lowest  classes,  joined  in  rejoicing  over  the 
doctor's  return.  We  have  a  new  Governor,  recently  arrived, 
quite  a  stranger  in  this  province.  He  is  reported  to  be  of 
the  old  school  of  Persian  officials,  austere  and  haughty  in 
his  bearing,  especially  towards  foreigners.  And  so  we  found 
him,  on  calling  upon  him  a  few  days  after  his  coming  to 
town.  But  when  he  heard  of  Dr.  Cochran's  arrival,  and 
was  told  by  prominent  persons  of  his  benevolent  and  most 
successful  professional  services,  and  of  the  long  residence 
of  the  American  missionaries  in  the  country,  with  their 
varied  beneficent  operations,  he  was  quite  impressed,  and 
sent  at  once  one  of  his  more  prominent  servants  to  enquire 
for  the  doctor's  health  after  his  journey,  and  with  him  sent 

149 


150  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

a  huge  tray  of  sweetmeats,  borne  on  men's  heads,  as  is  the 
Persian  style  in  honouring  a  newcomer.  And  when  Dr. 
Cochran  called  to  pay  his  respects  upon  His  Excellency, 
he  was  received  with  much  cordiality. 

The  Governor  soon  sought  Dr.  Cochran's  aid  for 
himself  for  acute  rheumatism.  "  All  winter  and 
spring,"  wrote  the  doctor,  "  I  had  under  my  care  the 
Governor  of  this  district,  a  Persian  of  the  old  style, 
and  one  who  did  not  hesitate  to  demand  much  of  my 
time — a  man  who,  when  well  enough  to  ride,  sits  in 
his  open  carriage  accompanied  by  a  large  escort.  First 
in  the  procession  come  ten  to  twenty  horsemen,  well 
armed,  riding  two  by  two;  next  come  two  of  his  exe- 
cutioners, in  scarlet  uniform,  carrying  long  whips,  and 
crying  out,  '  Clear  the  way,  stand  up.  Out  of  the  way,' 
etc.  Then  come  about  twenty  constables  with  long 
canes,  held  up.  After  these  some  more  horsemen — 
his  personal  servants — with  one  or  two  finely  saddled 
led  horses,  with  rich  embroidered  spreads  over  the 
saddles,  followed  by  the  Governor  in  his  carriage,  while 
in  his  rear  come  a  few  more  horsemen,  among  them  his 
pipebearer,  who  is  called  upon  every  fifteen  minutes  or 
so  to  give  him  the  water  pipe — for  which  coals  are 
carried  in  iron  vessels  hanging  from  the  saddle.  As 
he  gets  to  the  city  gate  the  footmen  draw  up  in  line, 
salute,  and  are  dismissed,  when  they  await  his  return." 

In  calling  on  the  Governor,  all  the  doctor's  diplo- 
macy and  social  skill  were  necessary.  "  Such  a  pa- 
tient," he  wrote  on  June  15th,  1890,  "  takes  much  time, 
trouble,  and  care  over  and  above  other  patients.  I 
have  to  have  two  men  if  I  go  on  horseback,  one  to  hold 
the  horse.  No  one  there  would  do  it  (all  bring  their 
servants),  and  no  place  to  fasten  him.  One  must  go 
with  me  through  the  several  outer  courtyards,  where 


o 
U 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  151 

the  different  officials  attached  to  the  Governor's  court 
are  seeing  and  hearing  petitions.  Then  on  entering 
his  room  I  must  take  time  not  only  to  see  him,  but 
also  to  drink  two  glasses  of  tea,  which  are  served  with 
quite  an  interval  between  them.  Then  the  native 
physicians  who  have  worked  to  get  the  case,  and  the 
friends  have  to  be  satisfied,  etc.  He  is  now  convales- 
cent, and  rides  out  in  the  carriage,  and  yesterday  on 
horseback  for  the  first  time." 

His  care  of  the  Governor  was  not  the  only  affair 
calling  for  tact  and  judgment.  In  this  same  letter  of 
June  15th  he  writes: — 

We  had  a  visit  from  the  British  consul  at  Tabriz  a  short 
time  ago.  There  was  quite  a  time  made  at  his  arrival.  He 
telegraphed  the  hour  when  he  would  arrive  to  the  Governor, 
and  the  night  before  his  entrance  sent  him  the  instructions 
of  his  superior,  the  Governor  of  the  Province,  as  to  how  he 
was  to  receive  the  consul. 

We  missionaries  went  out  about  four  miles.  The  English 
missionaries  had  gone  out  further.  We  found  him  encamped 
in  a  shady  place,  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  government 
officials.  He  became  very  impatient  at  their  tardiness,  and 
sent  one  man  and  then  another  to  report  that  he  was  waiting 
their  arrival,  and  would  stay  there  all  night  if  they  did  not 
come.  Finally,  the  agent  of  tbe  Foreign  Office  came,  but 
the  consul  told  him  he  had  insulted  him  in  keeping  him 
waiting  so  long,  that  he  should  have  come  out  at  least  twelve 
miles.  Tbe  Persian  said  the  consul  had  no  cause  for  com- 
plaint; be  had  come  with  some  ten  military  officers,  five 
noblemen,  and  two  led  horses,  and  a  detachment  of  fifty 
cavalry.  These  were  all  near,  but  had  not  been  presented. 
His  reply,  not  being  worded  carefully,  provoked  the  consul, 
and  he  stormed  away,  Jobn  Bull  getting  away  with  him. 
He  called  for  his  horses,  and  said  he  was  going  back  to 
Tabriz.  The  Khan  mounted  and  started  after  him,  as  well 
as  some  others.  I  also  accompanied,  but  did  not  say  any- 
thing while  he  was  in  that  state.  The  Khan  provoked  him 
more  and  more  by  telling  him,  in  Oriental  style  of  bos- 


152  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

pitality,  "  I  won't  let  you  go.  You  shall  come  on  to 
Urumia  with  me,"  and  caught  hold  of  the  bridle.  He 
naturally  added  fuel  to  the  fire,  and  I  got  the  Khan  to  leave 
him  and  fall  behind.  Ye  rode  on  toward  Tabriz.  I  soon 
rentured  to  remark  that  the  Governor,  I  knew,  had  given 
orders  to  have  him  received  with  every  mark  of  respect, 
and  to  do  him  every  possible  honour,  and  that  I  hoped  that 
any  mistake  on  the  part  of  his  agent  would  not  be  con- 
sidered as  disrespectful  on  the  part  of  the  Governor.  He 
said,  "  I  am  going  back."  I  then  bethought  myself  to  send 
back  word  to  the  Khan,  asking  if  he  would  come  after  him 
on  foot.  So  he  dismounted  and  began  walking  after  us. 
I  told  Colonel  Stewart  that  the  Khan  was  on  foot  following. 
He  slowed  up,  and  after  the  Khan  had  again  asked  pardon, 
catching  hold  of  the  consul's  feet,  the  latter  turned  about. 

The  rest  of  the  escort  was  present,  and  we  rode  in.  At 
the  city  gate  he  was  met  by  about  twenty  constables  on  foot, 
with  long  canes,  who  immediately  proceeded,  two  by  two, 
the  led  horses  and  cavalry  ahead  of  them,  and  all  the  officers 
and  the  other  horsemen  beside  and  behind  him.  All  but  the 
foot  escort  came  out  to  our  place  with  him.  The  officials 
dismounted  and  took  tea  with  us. 

The  Khans  of  the  city  did  what  they  could  to  atone  for 
their  seeming  want  of  attention  all  the  time  he  was  here, 
by  sending  tray  after  tray  of  candy,  sugar,  and  tea,  and 
lambs,  and  calling  on  him.  We  enjoyed  his  visit.  He  is  a 
rery  pleasant  man,  sociable  and  well-read,  and  has  travelled 
a  great  deal  in  the  East.  The  day  he  left,  a  large  escort 
again  accompanied  him,  and  about  an  hour's  ride  out  a  tent 
had  been  prepared,  where  we  dismounted,  and  coffee,  and 
tea,  and  pipes  were  served,  when  all  took  leave  but  an  escort 
of  five  horsemen.  Katharine  was  ill  most  of  the  time  he  was 
here,  so  it  made  it  hard  for  me  to  do  for  him.  We  gave 
one  dinner,  to  which  we  invited  the  English  missionaries. 

Tell  the  girls  I  am  loading  up  my  barrel  for  some  future 
day  when  I  shall  be  called  upon  to  tell  stories  of  blood  and 
thunder. 

All  the  time  his  ordinary  work,  full  of  extraordinary 
experiences,  went  on  as  usual.  Soon  after  the  reopen- 
ing of  the  hospital  his  wife  wrote : — 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  153 

We  had  a  great  scare  in  the  hospital  the  other  night.  Joe 
had  retired  early,  as  he  was  tired,  when  one  of  the  patients 
came  running  over  to  say  that  a  mistake  had  been  made 
in  giving  a  medicine,  and  a  patient  was  dying.  It  was  an 
old  man  whose  leg  was  amputated  the  other  day,  and  he  was 
doing  well  after  nearly  dying  several  times,  when  his  nurse 
gave  him  a  spoonful  of  carbolic  acid  by  mistake.  Joe  and 
all  the  young  doctors  worked  over  him  until  midnight,  and 
thought  surely  he  would  go,  but  he  has  rallied  again,  and 
may  yet  recover.  He  is  a  mountain  man;  his  wife  and  sons 
had  come  to  visit  him  that  day.  She  was  quite  furious, 
and  kept  inciting  her  sons  to  draw  their  daggers  and  kill 
that  nurse  on  the  spot,  and  had  the  man  died,  I  don't  know 
what  might  have  happened,  these  mountain  people  are  so  wild. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1890,  work  on  the  "  Howard 
Annex,"  the  building  for  the  women's  medical  work, 
was  begun.  It  was  a  well  built  structure,  with  rooms 
in  it  for  Dr.  Cochran's  mother.  In  May  another  little 
daughter  was  born  in  his  home.  In  July  the  medical 
class  was  graduated.  One  graduate  went  off  to  Mosul, 
and  another  to  Teheran  to  help  the  medical  mission- 
aries there. 

In  the  fall  Dr.  Cochran  made  another  visit  to  Te- 
heran to  escort  Miss  Green,  who  had  been  transferred 
from  the  station  there  to  Urumia.  On  this  visit  he 
had  an  interview  with  the  Shah.  Of  this  and  of  his 
impressions  of  the  work,  he  wrote: — 

I  was  in  Teheran  nine  years  ago,  but  since  that  time  our 
station  has  moved  into  its  new  buildings,  and  is  now  very 
conveniently  situated  for  its  work.  A  fine  chapel  stands  in 
the  centre  of  the  grounds,  surrounded  by  the  boys'  school, 
the  girls'  school,  with  the  home  for  the  ladies  in  charge, 
and  two  missionary  residences.  Two  or  more  cities  are 
represented,  as  well  as  nearly  all  the  nationalities  of  Persia, 
in  this  school  for  boys  and  young  men,  which  is  fitting  a 
large  number  of  young  men  to  become  the  native  mission- 


154  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

aries  to  their  people.  The  girls'  school  is  a  model  of  neat- 
ness, having  everything  in  its  teachers  and  buildings  to 
make  it  a  first-class  home  and  training  school  for  its  pupils. 
In  the  chapel  both  Persian  and  English  services  are  held 
regularly — the  latter  for  the  English-speaking  Europeans. 
A  short  distance  from  these  premises  is  the  dispensary, 
while  a  mile  away  in  the  eastern  end  of  the  city,  stands 
the  beautiful  hospital,  just  erected,  and  ready  to  receive 
patients.  On  the  grounds  is  the  residence  of  Dr.  Torrence, 
the  physician  in  charge,  whose  kind  and  genial  character  has 
won  the  hearts  of  the  Teheran  people,  from  the  King  to  the 
poorest  subjects. 

Having  but  a  week  to  spend  in  the  capital,  I  lost  no 
time  in  visiting  the  Mission  work,  and  in  making  calls 
at  the  legations  and  on  Persians  whose  acquaintance  is 
important  to  us  on  account  of  the  official  positions  they 
hold.  Through  the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs,  Dr.  Tor- 
rence, who  has  seen  the  Shah  a  number  of  times,  was  able 
to  obtain  an  audience  with  His  Majesty  for  us.  At  the 
hour  appointed  we  presented  ourselves  at  the  palace,  arrayed 
in  the  costume  prescribed  for  men  in  our  positions,  viz., 
full-dress  suits,  with  silk  hats  and  overshoes  to  be  left  off 
at  the  door,  or  as  we  approached  him.  We  both  wore  the 
decorations  conferred  upon  us  some  years  ago  by  His 
Majesty  (the  Order  of  the  Lion  and  the  Sun).  The  King 
was  seated  at  a  table  in  the  garden  of  one  of  his  most 
beautiful  palaces.  Beside  the  table,  on  the  ground,  was  a 
handsome  Persian  rug,  on  which  lay  his  portfolio  and 
papers.  He  was  dressed  in  a  cashmere  shawl  coat,  buttoned 
to  the  throat,  black  trousers,  and  low  patent  leather  boots, 
with  the  common  Persian  Astrakhan  fur  hat.  Two  or  three 
of  his  ministers  were  standing  about  him  at  a  respectful 
distance.  We  were  ushered  into  the  garden  by  the  son  of 
the  Minister  for  Foreign  Affairs.  As  we  approached  to 
within  one  hundred  feet  of  where  the  King  sat,  we  stopped, 
partially  hidden  by  the  trees  and  shrubbery,  while  the  officer 
went  ahead  to  announce  us.  The  minister  beckoning  to  us, 
we  slowly  walked  forward,  with  our  gloved  hands  clasped 
in  front  of  us,  and  as  soon  as  we  got  to  where  His  Majesty 
could  see  us,  we  made  a  very  low  bow  together.  Then 
taking  some  ten  steps  more,  we  again  made  a  bow.  This 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  155 

time  His  Majesty  noticed  us,  and  he  called  out,  "  Come." 
Advancing  a  few  yards  we  made  another  bow,  when  he 
invited  us  still  nearer,  and  said,  "  Torrence,  who  is  this  ? " 
We  walked  up  to  within  twelve  feet  or  so  of  where  he  sat, 
and  then  making  a  final  bow,  stood  before  His  Imperial 
Majesty  the  Shah  in  Shah.  Addressing  me,  he  asked  after 
our  welfare  in  Urumia:  as  to  whether  our  missionaries  were 
pleased  with  the  way  his  officials  treated  them:  as  to  the 
number  of  our  schools  and  adherents.  He  asked  if  his 
Christian  subjects  fared  as  well  as  his  Mohammedan  sub- 
jects, etc.  Then  taking  up  a  paper  which  he  had  laid 
down  on  our  approach,  he  turned  to  the  Minister  of  In- 
ternal Revenue,  and  we,  bowing,  backed  away  from  the  royal 
presence.  Stopping  to  make  our  bows  every  few  yards,  we 
retraced  our  steps,  keeping  one  eye  on  His  Majesty  and 
one,  so  far  as  we  could,  behind  us,  to  avoid  stepping  off  the 
walks  or  into  the  fountains.  As  we  neared  the  gate,  we 
were  aware  of  quite  a  retinue  entering.  To  avoid  a  collision 
with  some  other  high  persons,  Dr.  Torrence  looked  around 
and  discovered  that  it  was  the  King's  son — the  Minister 
of  War.  Being  now  about  out  of  sight  of  His  Imperial 
Majesty,  we  faced  about  and  made  obeisance  to  His  Royal 
Highness.  He  recognized  me,  and  appointed  an  hour  the 
next  day  for  us  to  call  on  him. 

In  the  early  winter,  after  Dr.  Cochran's  return  to 
Urumia,  the  Crown  Prince,  Muzaffar-i-din,  who  was 
later  Shah,  with  the  Governor-General  of  the  Province, 
visited  Urumia.  Dr.  Cochran  writes : — 

In  the  few  days  that  he  was  here,  I  saw  a  good  deal 
of  him,  as  he  was  troubled  with  articular  rheumatism.  He 
was  especially  gracious  to  us,  in  that  he  visited  our  college 
and  hospital,  spending  two  hours  here,  and  was  evidently 
much  interested  in  the  character  of  the  instruction  given  in 
the  college  and  in  the  hospital,  the  surgical  instruments, 
etc.,  and  in  visiting  the  female  seminary  the  next  day. 
He  thanked  the  ladies  for  what  they  were  doing  for  his 
subjects,  and  encouraged  them  to  keep  on  in  this  good  work. 
He  made  a  donation  of  thirty  tomans  to  the  students  of  the 


156  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

college,  and  promised  something  to  the  Fiske  Seminary.  He 
also  visited  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Anglican  Missions. 
This  is  the  first  time  that  His  Royal  Highness  ever  visited 
a  mission  school.  While  here,  he  often  asked  for  Dr.  Holmes, 
for  whom  he  has  a  high  regard.  We  have  since  heard  of 
the  King's  visiting  our  Mission  in  Teheran.  What  this 
unprecedented  action  on  the  part  of  the  King  and  Crown 
Prince  signifies,  time  alone  can  record.  .  .  .  He  expressed 
himself  as  much  pleased  with  our  schools  and  work  among 
his  subjects,  and  bade  us  "  do  still  more."  He  gave  us  ten 
gold  pieces  "  for  the  students."  He  is  very  anxious  that 
Dr.  Holmes  return  to  his  service,  and  telegraphed  him  from 
here.  He  is  just  about  to  leave,  and  it  is  remarkable  how 
much  time  he  has  spent  in  visiting  Christian  schools — ours, 
the  Papists',  and  Anglicans' — and  so  little  or  nothing  among 
his  own  people.  Indeed,  behind  his  back,  it  is  slurringly 
said,  "  The  Prince  has  become  Christian." 

It  was  on  the  visit  of  the  King  to  the  schools  and 
chapels  in  Teheran,  mentioned  by  Dr.  Cochran,  that 
His  Majesty,  after  going  over  the  girls'  school,  paused 
before  a  blackboard,  and  wrote  on  it,  in  Persian,  the 
word  "  clean."  The  royal  comment  is  still  preserved, 
framed  in  glass.  In  her  home  letters,  Mrs.  Cochran 
drew  a  fuller  picture  of  the  Crown  Prince's  visit  in 
Urumia : — 

We  have  had  the  pleasure  of  entertaining  his  Royal 
Highness,  the  Crown  Prince  of  Persia,  to-day,  and  while 
it  is  all  fresh  in  mind  I  must  write  you  about  it.  He  came 
to  Urumia  last  Wednesday.  All  our  gentlemen  went  out 
to  meet  him,  together  with  some  twenty  or  twenty-five 
thousand  from  the  city  and  villages.  He  came  from  the 
southern  end  of  the  Lake,  so  came  in  via  Geogtapa  and 
the  river.  Several  of  the  ladies  went  down  to  a  palace  near, 
where  they  had  a  good  view  of  the  whole  procession. 

His  Highness  came  in  a  beautiful  carriage  drawn  by  six 
black  horses,  surrounded  by  a  large  number  of  outriders, 
and  preceded  by  a  hundred  Cossacks  in  white  and  red  uni- 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  157 

forms.  Then  followed  the  Amir  in  his  carriage, — you  re- 
member, he  is  our  old  friend  the  Salar.  They  occupied 
the  palace  just  outside  the  city  gates.  The  Crown  Prince 
is  troubled  with  rheumatism,  and  sent  for  Joe  to  come  and 
treat  him  the  next  day.  The  Amir  told  Joe  that  the  Prince 
would  ride  out  here,  and  he  got  word  last  evening,  Sunday, 
that  he  was  coming  to-day  at  two  o'clock.  Such  a  busy 
day  as  we  have  had!  All  the  college  boys  were  turned  out 
to  sweep  up  the  leaves  from  the  grounds  and  avenues,  and 
put  everything  in  fine  order.  We  took  the  stove  out  of  the 
parlour,  and  arranged  a  large  chair  in  the  upper  corner 
for  our  guest,  and  decorated  with  chrysanthemums.  We 
made  ready  cake,  besides  some  fancy  tarts  and  candies, 
which  were  arranged  on  our  best  dishes  on  a  table  in  the 
side  window  in  the  parlour.  The  sitting-room,  too,  had  to 
be  in  order  for  the  Khans  in  attendance.  Then  we  locked 
the  bedroom  doors,  and  we  ladies  fled  upstairs  with  the 
children  to  the  parlour  chamber,  where  we  could  look  out 
and  see.  The  gentlemen  met  the  Prince  at  the  gate,  where 
he  dismounted,  and  the  college  boys  were  drawn  up  in  line 
and  sang  a  song  of  welcome. 

The  Prince  remained  about  half  an  hour  in  the  parlour. 
He  did  not  sit  at  first,  but  walked  about,  examining  pic- 
tures, etc.  At  last  he  sat  down.  No  one  else  could  sit,  of 
course,  until  after  a  while  the  Amir  asked  him  if  he  would 
seat  the  gentlemen,  and  he  nodded  assent.  Joe  showed  him 
California  pictures  and  curiosities  in  which  he  seemed  in- 
terested. Tea  was  passed  to  him  in  one  of  my  new  cups, 
but  as  no  one  could  drink  in  his  presence,  no  more  was 
brought.  But  in  the  sitting-room  and  the  yard  plenty  was 
disposed  of.  Joe  passed  him  the  cake  and  candies,  and  he 
tried  several  kinds,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Amir,  who 
told  him  that  he  would  not  find  such  things  anywhere  else. 
No  one  else  partook  except  his  small  son  of  ten,  who  ate 
a  tart  behind  the  back  of  one  of  the  Khans. 

He  next  went  to  the  college,  and  was  seated  alone  upon 
the  platform  while  all  the  boys  stood.  There  was  another 
song,  an  original  poem  in  Persian,  reading  in  English,  and 
a  short  recitation  in  geography. 

Next  he  went  to  the  hospital.  He  went  to  the  bedsides  of 
the  patients  who  were  not  able  to  be  up,  and  enquired 


158  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

particularly  into  their  troubles.  The  instruments  were  dis- 
played in  the  operating  room,  and  the  skeleton  was  ex- 
amined with  great  curiosity.  On  leaving,  he  gave  ten  gold 
pieces  for  the  students,  including  the  medical  department. 
The  next  day  he  went  to  the  city  and  visited  the  girls' 
school.  He  expressed  himself  as  very  much  pleased  with 
the  work  we  were  doing  in  education.  To-day  he  departed 
for  Tabriz. 


After  the  Crown  Prince's  visit,  the  work  went  on 
quietly  for  a  while,  but  not  long.  It  was  just  about  this 
time  that  the  tragic  imprisonment  of  Mirza  Ibrahim 
began.  He  was  a  convert  from  Mohammedanism  who 
had  been  baptized  in  1890  at  Khoi.  Persecution  began 
at  once.  His  wife  and  property  were  taken  from  him, 
and  he  was  forced  to  flee  to  Urumia.  There  he  took 
refuge  in  Dr.  Cochran's  hospital.  After  a  time  he  was 
sent,  at  his  own  request,  to  preach  in  the  villages.  He 
was  soon  arrested,  cruelly  maltreated  in  Urumia,  and 
then  taken  off  to  prison  in  Tabriz,  where  he  was  choked 
to  death,  passing  on  to  his  martyr's  crown  on  May  14th, 
1893.  When  the  Crown  Prince  was  informed  of  his 
death  he  asked,  "How  did  he  die?"  and  the  jailer 
answered,  "  He  died  like  a  Christian."  His  unflinch- 
ing martyrdom  was  alike  a  joy  and  an  anguish  to  the 
missionaries.  Scarcely  a  year  of  Dr.  Cochran's  life 
passed  without  some  dramatic  incidents,  and  in  May, 
1891,  came  one  of  the  collisions  with  the  Tergawar 
Kurds,  which  were  to  end  so  disastrously.  Mrs. 
Cochran  wrote,  May  22nd: — 

This  has  been  an  exciting  week  for  us  in  Urumia.  A 
strange  thing  happened  last  Saturday,  which  may  have  seri- 
ous consequences.  Perhaps  you  remember  D ,  a  Kurd, 

about  whom  I  wrote   as  having  become  a   Christian.    He 
spent  one  or  two  winters  in  the  hospital,  and  is,  I  think, 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  159 

the  first  Kurdish  convert.  He  has  been  gatekeeper  this 
last  winter.  Last  Saturday  he  went  for  the  mail,  and 
noticed  some  men  in  the  city  watching  him.  Late  in  the 
afternoon  he  went  in  again,  and  just  as  he  reached  the  bridge 
by  the  college  on  his  return,  he  met  these  men,  who  spoke 
rudely,  turned  and  followed  him,  one  of  them  loading  his 

gun  as  he  went.  D ran  for  the  gate,  and  just  as  the 

man  was  about  to  fire,  the  college  boys  rushed  out,  caught 
his  gun,  and  stopped  him.  These  men,  the  TJrumia  Mussul- 
man, and  three  Kurds  went  on  towards  the  river.  Joe  was 
in  the  city,  and  Dr.  Shedd  sent  him  word  of  the  affair. 

Joe  thought  that  probably  these  Kurds  were  of  D 's 

tribe,  so  he  sent  word  to  B Khan,  who  has  charge  of 

them.  It  so  happened  that  this  Khan  was  drilling  and 
paying  his  soldiers  on  that  day,  so  he  mounted,  and  reached 
the  college  nearly  as  soon  as  Joe.  He  had  about  twenty-five 
horsemen  with  him. 

Joe  had  found  out  by  that  time  that  they  were  Tergawar 
Kurds,  and  told  the  Khan  that  he  knew  the  chiefs  there, 
and  would  write  about  the  affair,  and  that  would  be  the 
better  way.  But  the  Khan  and  his  men  were  mounted  and 
ready,  and  they  would  not  be  stopped,  but  galloped  away 
up  the  river.  Before  long  we  heard  considerable  firing,  and 
saw  smoke  rising  from  one  of  the  villages  above  us.  It 
seems  that  they  tracked  these  men  into  a  village,  and  found 
they  were  in  a  certain  house.  They  would  not  come  out, 
so  the  soldiers  brought  bundles  of  hay,  and  set  fire  to  the 
door.  At  last  the  men  rushed  out.  One  was  wounded, 
two  were  caught,  and  two  escaped.  The  most  dangerous 
Kurd  escaped.  He  is  a  nephew  of  Hesso,  the  famous  Kurd- 
ish robber.  His  servant  was  wounded,  and  the  soldiers  let 
him  be  carried  off  home.  One  is  in  prison  in  the  city. 
One  of  the  soldiers  was  wounded  and  brought  to  the  hos- 
pital. As  Joe  was  dressing  his  wound  he  said,  "  Now  we 
will  send  and  have  the  wounded  Kurd  brought  here  too." 
"  If  you  do,"  said  he,  "  I  will  get  up  in  the  night  and  kill 

him."  It  is  all  a  most  unfortunate  affair.  D has  been 

sent  off  to  Tiflis,  because  we  could  not  keep  men  with  such 
enemies. 

B Khan  was  reprimanded  by  the  Governor  for  going 

on  such  an  errand  without  his  command.  The  Kurds  are 


160  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

in  a  very  excited  state  because  the  wounded  man  will  die, 
they  think.  Joe  sent  a  letter  to  the  father  of  the  Kurd 
who  escaped,  whose  servant  was  wounded,  explaining  the 
affair,  that  the  matter  went  out  of  our  hands  and  beyond 
what  we  desired,  and  asked  to  have  the  wounded  man 
brought  to  the  hospital.  The  father  was  willing  to  send 
him,  but  the  son  was  very  angry  and  would  allow  no  answer 
to  be  sent.  He  says  the  price  of  his  servant's  blood  is  1,000 
tomans,  and  he  will  have  that  or  blood  in  return.  They 
say  he  is  a  perfect  Satan.  His  uncles  came  down  from 
Tergawar  last  Thursday  to  call  on  Joe.  They  were  friendly 
enough,  only  they  insisted  that  no  harm  was  meant  to 

D and  we  had  no  right  to  take  up  the  matter  so.     This 

fierce  Kurd  is  down  here  in  the  villages  above  us,  they  say, 
and  I  fear  he  will  do  harm  to  Joe  if  he  gets  the  chance. 
I  do  not  mean  to  let  him  go  off  to  the  city  without  several 
men  for  a  while.  He  is  going  in  to  see  the  Governor  this 
morning  to  see  about  getting  the  Kurd  who  is  in  prison 
released. 

On  May  28th,  Mrs.  Cochran  wrote: — 

I  suppose  you  would  like  to  hear  the  sequel  to  the  Kurdish 
affair.  We  kept  hearing  various  rumours  about  the  Kurd, 
Mahmud  Beg.  At  last  the  master  of  the  village  where  the 
fight  took  place  called,  and  said  we  had  better  make  peace, 

that  this  Kurd  declared  he  had  meant  no  harm  to  D , 

and  wanted  to  know  what  right  we  had  to  follow  the  matter 
up  so.  He  advised  that  we  send  up  a  certain  Kurdish 
mullah  who  is  a  friend  of  the  Kurd  and  also  very  friendly 
to  Joe,  and  ask  the  Beg  to  come  down  and  talk  over  the 
matter,  and  settle  it  peaceably.  The  messenger  went,  and 
either  the  friends  had  influenced  the  warlike  young  man 
or  time  had  cooled  him.  At  any  rate,  we  suddenly  heard 
that  he  was  on  his  way  down  to  call  on  us.  He  appeared 
in  the  rain  late  one  afternoon,  with  about  a  dozen  followers, 
all  armed  to  the  teeth.  Dr.  Shedd  and  Mr.  Coan  with  Joe 
met  him  in  our  parlour,  and  after  a  friendly  glass  of  tea 
the  chief  began  by  saying  that  he  had  not  come  down 
because  he  was  afraid  of  us  or  of  the  government,  that  he 
had  killed  many  captains,  had  killed  many  majors  and 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  161 

several  generals,  and  was  afraid  of  no  man.  If  the  gentle- 
men did  not  believe  it,  he  would  now  go  into  the  very  heart 
of  the  bazar,  kill  five  men,  and  come  back  slowly.  He  had 
come  because  he  wished  to  show  himself  friendly  to  us.  He 

swore  he  had  intended  no  harm  to  D ,  was  only  trying 

to  frighten  him.  All  he  wanted  now  was  to  have  us  repay 
the  losses  he  had  sustained  in  the  affair,  and  whether  the 
servant  who  was  wounded  died  or  not  he  would  demand  no 
more,  but  always  be  our  warmest  friend. 

It  seemed  best,  on  the  whole,  to  settle  on  that  basis,  so 
we  had  to  pay  for  the  three  guns  and  cartridges  lost  in  the 
fight,  which  amounted  in  all  to  about  ten  tomans.  So  they 
remained  that  night  as  our  guests,  and  we  cooked  them  a 
good  supper  of  rice,  and  they  departed  the  next  day  in  a  very 
friendly  frame  of  mind.  The  medical  students  report  that 
several  times  during  the  supper  he  raised  his  hands  and 
thanked  God  for  keeping  him  from  doing  the  thing  that 
he  had  planned.  He  said  that  he  and  thirty  followers  came 
down  one  night  bent  upon  doing  something  to  avenge  them- 
selves. They  got  as  far  as  Benda,  some  three  miles  up  the 
river,  and  there  so  many  different  plans  were  proposed  that 
they  could  not  agree,  and  so  did  nothing.  Some  wanted  to 
go  and  rob  Seir  of  all  the  flocks  and  herds,  some  Mar 
Sergis,  others  wanted  to  surround  the  college  and  fire  into 
all  the  windows  they  could  see. 

A  number  of  patients  from  the  Kurds  came  to  the 
hospital  as  a  result  of  this  affair. 

The  year  1892  was  an  eventful  year  in  the  Cochran 
family.  In  January  his  mother  was  seriously  ill.  In 
February  another  son  was  born,  and  was  named  for 
his  father,  Joseph.  In  the  spring  Dr.  Cochran  took  a 
trip,  at  his  own  expense,  to  Mosul,  Bagdad,  and  Baby- 
lon, returning  by  way  of  Hamadan.  He  was  gone 
about  two  months.  In  the  summer  all  the  children 
were  sick  with  whooping  cough.,  and  little  two-year-old 
Suvie  died  in  August.  The  cholera,  also,  made  its 
appearance  this  summer,  and  caused  him  much  anxiety 
and  care.  With  all  these  burdens,  he  also  took  over 


162  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

the  added  labour  of  the  Station  treasury.  The  troubles 
over  the  Tobacco  Regie  also  began  this  year,  and  two 
missionaries  in  other  stations  became  involved.  A 
British  syndicate  had  acquired  from  the  Shah  a  con- 
cession for  a  tobacco  monopoly,  and  offered  great  in- 
ducements to  secure  competent  agents.  The  monopoly 
was  bitterly  opposed  by  the  people  and  the  ecclesiastics, 
and  was  overthrown. 
Dr.  Cochran  wrote,  on  January  8th,  1892: — 

I  will  write  you  to-night  while  sitting  with  mother,  who 
is  quite  ill  with  bronchitis.  It  is  very  restful  in  the  in- 
cessant push  and  humdrum  of  my  life  here  to  look  back 
to  my  visit  in  America,  where  I  was  so  entirely  free  from 
care  and  responsibility.  ...  It  looks  as  if  Persia  had  all  it 
can  stand  for  a  while  of  foreign  companies,  concessions, 
monopolies,  etc.  Small  chance  now  for  Mr.  B.  The  Shah 
favours  them,  and  is  anxious  to  introduce  these  new  in- 
dustries, but  the  clergy  are  dead  set  against  it.  The  tobacco 
had  been  farmed  out  to  a  British  syndicate,  but  first  one 
district  and  then  another  rebelled  till  the  King  has  had  to 
withdraw  his  concession  and  pay  back  the  money  and  costs. 
At  least  so  he  says.  Perhaps  it  is  a  ruse  to  quiet  the  people. 

It  was  proposed  that  Dr.  Cochran  should  go  to 
Teheran  to  take  the  place  of  the  medical  missionary 
there  who  had  been  drawn  into  the  Regie,  but  he  did 
not  go.  His  wife  refers  to  this  in  her  home  letter 
of  February  20th,  1892:— 

We  have  had  queer  times  this  week.  Joe  had  a  bad  cold, 
but  added  to  it  in  that  cold  Persian  room  in  the  city  last 
Wednesday.  Thursday  morning,  as  he  was  dressing,  he  was 
taken  with  a  sudden  rheumatic  pain  about  the  heart,  and 
could  hardly  get  his  breath  for  an  hour.  All  day  he  could 
not  move  without  great  pain,  so  had  to  remain  where  he 
was  upstairs.  Of  course,  I  felt  very  anxious,  and  had  the 
women  carry  me  up  and  stay  by  him  most  of  the  day. 
Joe  is  much  better,  but  it  still  troubles  him  to  move  much. 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  »  163 

We  have  heard  nothing  recently  about  the  Teheran  matter. 
It  is  certain,  however,  that  Joe  will  not  go  there  permanently. 
There  is  a  possibility  that  he  may  be  asked  and  urged  to 
go  for  a  time  in  the  spring. 

The  trip  to  Mosul  and  Bagdad  was  made  in  March, 
April,  and  May.  His  sister  Emma,  who  had  married 
Mr.  Ponafidine  of  the  Russian  consular  service,  and 
who  was  stationed  with  her  husband  in  Bagdad,  was 
ill.  The  appropriations  for  the  hospital  were  inade- 
quate, so  that  it  had  to  be  closed,  and  competent  med- 
ical help  was  at  hand  for  Urumia  in  his  absence.  He 
left  Urumia  on  March  8th  with  Mr.  Whipple  of  Tabriz 
and  Mr.  Lang  of  the  Anglican  Mission  who  was  re- 
turning to  England.  They  crossed  the  mountains  to 
Mosul,  ancient  Nineveh,  and  from  Mosul  went  down 
the  Euphrates  by  raft  to  Bagdad.  The  trip  was  full 
of  experiences.  They  were  held  up  and  shot  at,  but 
escaped  all  perils,  and  got  great  rest  and  enjoyment 
from  the  journey. 

He  returned  to  Urumia  in  May,  and  the  story  of  the 
rest  of  the  year  can  be  told  in  extracts  from  Mrs. 
Cochran's  home  letters : — 

COLLEGE,  May  20th,  1892. — I  did  think  we  were  to  have  a 
little  peace  this  afternoon,  but  the  Governor  has  just  sent 
word  that  he  will  call,  and  there  has  been  a  great  flying 
about  to  collect  chairs  and  tea  glasses  enough,  for  he  will 
bring  a  crowd  with  him.  Our  samovar  has  been  on  the 
perpetual  boil  this  week,  for  Joe  got  home  last  Saturday, 
and  there  have  been  callers  every  day  since,  Mussulmans 
and  Nestorians,  delegations  from  Seir,  and  delegations  from 
Geogtapa  to  "  pour  their  peace "  on  the  Hakim  Sahib,  and 
"  bless  his  journey."  I  don't  know  as  it  pays  to  be  such 
good  friends  with  everybody.  Joe  got  in  about  dark  Satur- 
day, having  come  from  Sulduz  in  one  day.  He  has  been 
very  well  during  the  whole  journey,  but  is  glad  to  get  home. 


164  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

All  had  so  many  questions  to  ask  that  I  thought  that  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  get  together  for  an  evening,  so  Tuesday 
all  came  in  after  tea,  and  Joe  read  his  journal,  and  made 
his  comments  as  he  read,  and  answered  questions.  He 
took  us  only  as  far  as  Bagdad  last  evening,  so  I  asked  all 
to  come  again  Thursday  after  Station  Meeting,  take  tea 
with  us,  and  hear  the  rest  of  the  story. 

COLLEGE,  June  24th. — We  have  had  war  and  famine  during 
our  life  in  Persia,  and  I  suppose  our  experience  would 
not  be  complete  without  pestilence.  I  suppose  you  see  re- 
ports in  the  papers,  so  I  might  as  well  give  a  true  statement 
of  affairs.  Cholera  is  working  eastward,  was  near  Teheran 
when  we  last  heard.  It  is  doubtless  there  by  this  time,  and 
Hamadan  will  not  escape.  We  are  a  little  off  the  travelled 
route,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  it  will  reach  us  before 
fall,  when  the  cool  weather  will  cut  it  short.  It  is  not  a 
cheerful  prospect.  I  do  not  dread  it  for  myself,  but  Joe 
will  have  to  be  among  the  sick. 

SEIR,  July  2Yth. — Joseph  is  up  for  the  day,  and  is  busy 
writing  an  article  on  cholera  for  the  Syriac  paper.  Monday 
morning,  just  as  Joe  was  preparing  to  go  down,  word  came 
that  a  Mussulman  lady,  wife  of  that  Sertib  in  Sulduz,  where 
Joe  visited  once,  was  coming  for  treatment  and  to  make 
us  a  visit,  and  would  arrive  that  noon.  We  had  heard 
rumours  of  this  visit  before,  but  did  not  suppose  that  she 
would  really  come.  Well,  of  course,  there  was  nothing  to 
be  done  but  entertain  her.  We  took  some  of  the  remaining 
carpets  in  our  house,  and  furnished  a  room  or  two  in  the 
Howard  Annex,  and  made  a  place  ready  in  the  hospital 
proper  for  the  servants.  They  came  on  Monday  at  noon, 
and  remained  till  Friday,  the  lady,  her  brother,  and  son, 
and  twenty-four  servants.  She  is  of  Circassian  descent, 
very  pretty  in  face  and  manners,  and  more  free  than  most 
of  the  ladies  here.  They  made  very  little  trouble,  were  quiet 
and  orderly.  Of  course,  we  hired  a  cook  for  them,  and 
Agha  Bazurk  had  general  charge  of  the  meals.  The  second 
day  the  lady  said  we  gave  too  much,  and  said,  "  My  servants 
need  only  so  and  so,"  naming  a  certain  amount  of  bread, 
meat,  rice,  etc.  She  evidently  knows  how  to  manage  her 
household. 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  165 

SEIR,  July  29th. — Poor  Joe  is  so  driven.  I  feel  really 
worried  about  him.  He  is  coughing,  too.  I  believe  he  has 
the  whooping  cough  like  the  rest  of  them.  This  treasury 
business  is  a  burden,  for  he  has  so  much  to  do  that  he 
cannot  attend  to  the  accounts  in  time,  and  work  accumu- 
lates. I  think  that  he  feels  worried  for  fear  that  he  will 
make  a  big  muddle  of  it  and  not  be  able  to  get  a  balance. 
He  has  been  up  here  but  three  days,  besides  Sundays,  and 
those  days  he  worked  hard.  The  cholera  has  come  to 
Ardibil  from  the  Caspian,  but  does  not  yet  seem  to  come 
further  west. 

SEIR,  August  2nd. — On  Saturday  came  the  news  that  the 
cholera  was  in  Tabriz. 

SEIR,  August  20th. — I  have  very  little  idea  that  this  letter 
will  go  through,  but  I  will  write  a  few  lines  to  keep  you 
informed,  if  possible,  of  the  troublous  times  upon  which  we 
have  fallen.  The  outlook  is  indeed  dark.  This  is  worse 
than  the  famine  and  the  war,  but  the  same  Lord  who  brought 
us  through  those  is  still  guiding,  and  we  must  believe,  al- 
though we  cannot  see,  that  all  is  for  the  best.  Sickness  still 
continues  in  our  household.  Joe  and  I  both  have  the  whoop- 
ing cough,  too.  Poor  little  Suvie  is  still  very  ill.  Joseph 
thinks  she  will  recover  in  time,  but  it  will  be  very  slow. 

For  a  long  time  Joe  has  been  at  the  Governor  to  have  him 
establish  quarantine,  but  he  was  so  slow  about  it,  and  kept 
putting  it  off.  At  last,  a  few  days  ago,  all  got  well  fright- 
ened because  it  was  this  side  of  Tabriz,  and  he  gave  orders 
to  have  horsemen  put  into  Joe's  hands  for  the  purpose. 
He  promised  tents,  but  no  horses  were  forthcoming  to  carry 
the  tents.  Well,  at  last  the  tents,  and  the  guards,  and  the 
young  doctors  were  sent  out  on  the  Gavelan  road  to  the 
Nose,  but  alas!  too  late.  Cholera  is  already  in  the  city  and 
many  villages.  Joe  proposed  to  spend  the  whole  day  in 
the  city  ready  for  calls,  having  a  hot  dinner  sent  from  the 
college.  He  must  come  up  here  nights  for  the  present,  while 
Suvie  is  so  ill,  and  after  that  we  hoped  to  go  down  to  the 
college,  as  being  easier  for  him,  but  yesterday  we  discovered 
what  is  almost  certainly  cholera  there,  so  our  plans  are 
uncertain.  It  is  so  hard  for  him  to  break  away  and  come 


166      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

up,  and  yet  I  feel  sure  it  is  not  safe  for  him  to  stay  down. 
We  hardly  know  what  to  do  about  help  for  Suvie  nights. 
Joe  simply  must  not  be  up  with  her  now,  and  Miss  Mont- 
gomery cannot  be  up  night  after  night. 

SEER,  August  25th. — You  doubtless  thought  of  me  on  my 
wedding  day,  but  you  none  of  you  knew  what  was  taking 
place  in  our  home,  and  that  now  the  day  will  commemorate 
a  marriage,  a  birth,  and  a  death  for  us.  Dear  little  Suvie 
has  gone.  While  Dr.  Shedd  was  praying,  very  peacefully 
her  little  spirit  took  its  flight  just  before  the  clock  struck 
twelve.  Joe  and  I  went  up  and  walked  on  the  roof  under 
the  quiet  stars  to  be  alone  with  this,  our  first  great  grief. 
Poor  Joe  is  nearly  heartbroken.  So  far  the  Lord  has  won- 
derfully sustained  me.  The  next  morning  when  I  came 
down,  the  room  looked  so  cool  and  peaceful.  Kind  friends 
had  laid  the  little  darling  in  her  own  bed,  and  she  looked 
so  fair  and  sweet.  All  day  it  was  a  rest  to  think  of  her, 
for  my  hands  were  very  full  with  the  other  children.  But 
all  day  long,  above  the  dismal  sights  and  sounds,  I  seemed 
to  hear  the  patter  of  Suvie's  little  feet  in  the  Heavenly 
gardens,  and  she  was  dancing  and  laughing  so,  so  well,  and 
so  merry,  so  pure  and  beautiful,  that  I  was  content.  She 
at  least  was  safe  from  the  blast  of  fever  and  from  the  pesti- 
lence raging  below  on  the  hot  plain. 

We  had  a  short  service  about  nine  the  next  morning  in 
the  parlour,  where  she  was  baptized,  and  where  she  died. 
Dr.  Shedd  spoke  very  beautifully.  I  asked  him  to  dwell  on 
the  bright  side. 

We  hear  good  news  about  the  cholera.  It  seems  to  have 
spent  itself  and  is  not  very  fatal,  more  than  half  recover. 
At  present  it  is  in  the  Jewish  and  Mussulman  quarters 
of  the  city,  and  Joe  has  not  been  called,  as  in  those  places 
they  are  very  conservative  and  wish  no  European  help.  It 
is  in  many  of  the  villages.  So  many  have  fled  here  that  it  is 
a  small  city  of  tents.  The  Khans  here  have  established 
quarantine,  and  it  makes  us  some  trouble  about  getting 
provisions. 

COLLEGE,  HOME,  September  30th. — We  had  quite  an  ex- 
citement here  last  Tuesday  night.  For  some  days  there 
has  been  an  encampment  of  soldiers  this  side  of  the  city. 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  167 

They  are  from  Marand,  on  the  Julfa  and  Tabriz  road,  and 
are  on  their  way  south  to  quell  some  Kurdish  disturbances. 
These  soldiers  are  robbing  all  the  orchards  and  vineyards 
in  the  vicinity.  Sunday  one  was  caught  in  the  vineyard 
in  the  lower  garden,  but  was  let  off.  Tuesday  night  some 
more  came,  and  one  of  the  men  guarding  down  there  fired 
off  his  gun.  The  thieves  ran,  but  pretty  soon  about  forty 
men  appeared  at  the  front  gate  and  demanded  two  of  their 
number,  who  they  said  were  missing;  said  we  must  give 
them  up  dead  or  alive.  Joe  sent  word  that  we  had  none 
of  their  men,  and  if  they  had  any  complaint  to  make  they 
must  come  in  the  morning,  not  in  the  night,  for  it  was  now 
about  9 :30.  But  they  would  not  be  pacified,  so  Joe  went  up 
to  the  gate;  the  other  gentlemen  also  gathered,  and  all  the 
men  on  the  premises,  and  they  talked  and  talked  until  after 
eleven,  the  soldiers  swearing  and  reviling,  very  angry  indeed, 
and  declaring  they  would  force  their  way  in.  At  last  they 
departed,  saying  they  were  going  after  the  rest  of  their 
regiment,  and  would  come  and  lay  low  the  whole  place. 
Things  really  seemed  pretty  serious  for  a  while.  They  tried 
twice  to  let  Meshedie  down  over  the  wall  to  bring  help 
from  the  near  villages  or  the  city,  but  as  soon  as  he  ap- 
peared at  the  top,  heads  rose  from  among  the  trees,  and  it 
was  evident  that  we  were  well  surrounded.  We  did  not 
really  think  they  would  carry  out  their  threat,  but  I  gathered 
the  children  with  me  in  the  parlour,  and  Joe  stayed  below. 
We  retired  about  one,  as  we  concluded  the  men  were  not 
going  to  return.  In  the  morning  the  affair  was  reported  to 
the  chief  officers  and  to  the  city  authorities,  and  the  men 
were  found  out  and  punished. 

NOVEMBER  30th. — Just  now  the  successor  of  Mar  Shimon, 
the  Patriarch,  is  here  in  Urumia  too,  and  he  has  been 
invited  to  spend  a  few  days  at  the  college.  He  was  our 
guest  both  for  dinner  and  tea.  As  a  bishop  we  knew  he 
would  eat  no  meat,  but  supposed  he  would  eat  anything 
else.  Imagine  our  consternation  on  sitting  down  to  dinner 
to  find  that  he  fasted  on  Wednesdays  from  butter,  eggs,  and 
milk,  so  the  poor  man  had  to  make  his  dinner  on  bread, 
potatoes,  and  jelly,  with  tea  for  dessert,  as  the  cake  had 
butter  in  it.  The  people  he  had  with  him  had  to  fast  from 


168  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

meat,  but  could  eat  other  things,  so  altogether  it  was  a 
funny  dinner.  After  sundown,  however,  they  could  eat,  so 
we  had  a  hearty  meal  at  night  for  them.  The  bishop  has 
come  here  for  medical  treatment.  His  disease  will  require 
long  treatment,  and  we  are  thinking  of  keeping  him  here 
at  the  college,  perhaps  for  the  winter. 

To  these  extracts  should  be  added  Dr.  Cochran's  own 
modest  account  of  the  cholera  relief  work: — 

As  the  cholera  approached  us,  we  did  what  we  could 
to  prevent  its  entrance  into  Urumia,  or  failing  in  this, 
to  give  it  as  warm  a  reception  as  possible.  As  soon  as  it 
reached  Tiflis  it  was  evident  that  it  would  be  brought  here 
by  the  people  of  this  part  of  the  country  who  come  and  go 
in  such  large  numbers,  unless  measures  were  secured  to 
stop  it.  I  urged  the  authorities  repeatedly  to  be  prepared 
to  establish  a  quarantine,  being  confident  that  our  plain 
could  be  protected  by  a  guard  at  its  three  entrances.  From 
time  to  time  this  request  was  repeated,  but  I  was  always 
met  with  what  seemed  to  them  very  serious  objections.  In 
the  meantime,  we  published  a  pamphlet  in  Persian  and  Syriac 
on  cholera,  its  nature,  the  mode  of  its  propagation,  and  the 
means  of  prevention  and  treatment.  This  had  quite  a  wide 
circulation,  and  it  resulted  in  the  coming  of  very  many  to 
provide  themselves  with  the  medicines  which  had  been  pre- 
pared to  put  up  in  bottles  with  directions  printed  in  Syriac 
or  Persian.  Of  the  Moslems,  especially  the  upper  classes, 
and  of  the  Nestorians  and  Armenians,  the  more  enlightened, 
including  our  preachers  and  teachers,  armed  themselves  with 
the  pamphlets  and  medicines,  and  began  using  boiled  water 
and  refraining  from  vegetables  and  fruit,  except  from  their 
own  gardens,  and  in  not  a  few  instances,  the  sanitary  con- 
dition of  the  house  or  village  was  much  improved.  "When 
the  disease  was  working  havoc  at  Khoi,  and  had  reached 
Salmas,  the  Governor  at  last  gave  orders  to  institute  the 
quarantine.  We  printed  passes,  and  Dr.  Daniel  was  put 
in  charge,  with  a  strong  guard  at  his  command,  at  the 
Customs  House  at  Anzal,  with  instructions  to  hold  the 
road  and  to  keep  all  travellers  coming  this  way  three  days. 
In  a  day  or  two,  however,  it  became  evident  that  refugees 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  169 

from  Khoi  and  Salmas  had  already  brought  the  disease  into 
the  country.  The  city  people  now  scattered  so  far  as  they 
could.  Nearly  all  the  Khans  left,  some  to  Seir,  and  others 
to  others  villages,  while  the  middle  classes  fled  to  gardens 
and  vineyards  and  villages.  When  the  cholera,  fully  de- 
veloped, was  at  its  height,  there  was  very  little  communica- 
tion between  the  villages  and  the  city — business  was  at  a 
standstill,  and  we  doctors  now  had  less  to  do  for  the  cholera 
than  before  it  reached  us.  We  distributed  ourselves  and 
the  students  as  far  as  possible,  but  there  was  very  little 
call  for  us  in  the  city  or  from  the  villages.  Drs.  Miller, 
Isaac,  and  Daniel,  two  students,  and  myself,  have  together 
not  treated  more  than  two  hundred  cases  at  the  utmost. 
There  have  been  about  1,500  deaths  probably  in  the  city, 
while  nearly  every  village  has  been  visited — the  deaths 
ranging  from  one  to  thirty. 

At  present  there  is  a  good  deal  on  the  Baranduz  plain 
with  scattering  cases  in  the  city  and  the  other  rivers.  But 
the  reports  from  the  villages,  from  the  medical  students,  and 
the  other  natives  who  have  distributed  medicines,  has  been 
most  gratifying.  I  think  we  can  safely  say  that  ninety-five 
per  cent,  of  the  cases  treated  have  recovered.  All  unite  to 
speak  of  the  wonderful  effect  of  the  medicines.  While  in 
some  villages  the  following  of  doctors'  rules  saved  the  people, 
in  others,  as  in  Geogtapa,  prayer,  continuous  and  importu- 
nate, by  a  united  village,  with  all  the  denominations  joining 
in  one  accord,  kept  the  scourge  away.  Large  numbers  of 
Moslems  from  the  surrounding  villages  joined  the  Chris- 
tians in  the  services,  breaking  in  often  with  their  sincere 
"  Amens." 


Early  the  following  spring,  on  Thursday,  March  9th, 
1893,  Dr.  Cochran's  mother,  "  Madame  Cochran,"  as 
she  was  called  by  the  missionaries,  "  Khanem  Gurta," 
or  great  lady,  by  the  people,  passed  away  after  a  long 
and  useful  life.  For  more  than  forty-five  years  she  had 
been  identified  with  the  work.  For  the  last  ten  years 
she  had  been  the  matron  of  the  hospital,  and  no  small 
measure  of  its  phenomenal  success  was  due  to  her. 


170  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Few  were  able  to  resist  her  unselfish,  thoughtful  love, 
and  many  Mohammedan  patients  who  had  come  only 
with  reluctance,  and  who  viewed  Christians  with  con- 
tempt and  hate,  went  away  with  greatly  softened 
prejudices  and  a  new  interest  in  the  Christians' 
Saviour.  All  the  "  greybeards "  of  the  two  Moham- 
medan villages  near  the  hospital  came  in  a  body  to 
express  their  sorrow.  The  Governor  called  to  show 
his  sympathy.  The  native  pastors  insisted  on  being 
the  bearers,  at  the  funeral,  displacing  the  medical 
students  who  had  been  chosen  for  the  service,  saying, 
"  No,  we  will  do  it.  She  was  our  mother."  The  wind 
blew  a  gale,  and  it  was  a  wet  and  dreary  day  when 
the  funeral  procession  went  up  to  Seir.  As  it  neared 
the  village  a  number  of  the  men  came  down  to  meet  it, 
barefooted,  in  the  cold  mud;  the  women  stood  in  the 
rain,  weeping,  and  all  gathered  about  the  grave  in  spite 
of  the  sleet  and  snow  which  succeeded  the  rain.  The 
doctor's  mother's  death  was  a  great  personal  sorrow, 
as  well  as  a  loss  to  the  work.  She  had  filled  a  large 
place  in  it,  and  her  love  of  it  and  of  her  son  was  in- 
tense and  absorbing. 

In  July  and  August  he  made  a  tour  in  the  mountains 
of  Turkish  Kurdistan,  "  The  Mountains,"  as  they  are 
always  known  in  Urumia,  where  the  larger  part  of  the 
Nestorian  nation  lived.  "  The  Mountain  Field,  as  it 
was  called,"  wrote  Mr.  W.  A.  Shedd,  who  accompanied 
Dr.  Cochran  on  this  trip,  "  consists  of  four  large  in- 
dependent tribes,  living  compactly  together  in  four 
of  the  most  inaccessible  valleys  of  Kurdistan,  and  of  a 
large  number  of  Nestorians  living  scattered  among  the 
Kurdish  population,  partly  in  other  valleys,  but  mostly 
on  the  skirts  of  the  mountains.  The  four  large  tribes 
are  those  of  Jelu,  Baz,  Tkhoma,  and  Tiari," 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  171 

In  his  report  for  the  year,  Dr.  Cochran  gave  some 
account  of  this  visit  to  the  Mountains: — 

On  the  mountain  tour  Mr.  W.  A.  Shedd  and  a  Nestorian 
helper  accompanied  me  as  far  as  Kochanis.  At  Gawar, 
three  days  distant,  we  stopped  long  enough  to  receive  and 
return  the  calls  of  all  the  Turkish  civil  and  military  officers 
of  note,  and  to  prescribe  for  a  large  number  of  sick.  From 
there  we  went  to  Kochanis,  two  days  farther  west,  to  visit 
the  Nestorian  Patriarch,  Mar  Shimon.  We  found  him 
away  in  Bash  Kalleh  (two  days  to  the  north)  where  the 
Governor-General  of  this  province,  the  Vali  of  Van,  had 
come.  We  pitched  our  tent  just  below  the  village,  and 
watched  for  the  return  of  the  Patriarch.  As  soon  as  he  knew 
we  had  reached  Kochanis,  he  sent  us  word  that  we  must 
be  sure  and  wait  until  he  returned,  and  that  in  a  day  or  so 
he  would  come.  Thirteen  days  we  waited  for  him,  when  a 
messenger  arrived,  bringing  word  that  he  was  detained  by 
the  Government,  and  asking  that  we  do  not  tell  his  house- 
hold, but  to  use  every  means  in  our  power  to  secure  his 
release. 

During  our  stay  at  Kochanis,  we  had  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  many  people  who  had  come  on  business  to  their 
Patriarch.  All  who  come,  and  they  are  many,  are  enter- 
tained at  the  Patriarch's.  We,  too,  had  our  meals  sent  to 
us  all  the  time  we  were  there.  At  the  same  time,  no  one 
goes  to  the  patriarchate  without  taking  some  present. 

We  visited  Julamerk,  the  chief  Turkish  garrison  town  in 
this  part  of  Kurdistan  and  the  seat  of  the  Mutasariflik. 
This,  too,  is  the  market  town  for  a  number  of  tribes. 
It  was  the  seat  of  Norallah  Beg,  the  Kurdish  chief,  who 
joined  his  forces  with  Badir  Khan  Beg  of  Bohtan,  and 
massacred  so  many  Christians  in  1842.  The  town  lies 
above  the  valley  of  the  Zab,  nestled  among  the  highest  and 
wildest  mountains  of  the  Zagros  range.  The  cruel  chief 
had  his  castle  on  a  large  high  rock  which  is  in  the  centre 
of  the  town.  He  is  reported  to  have  thrown  with  his  own 
hands,  out  of  a  window,  his  little  child,  whose  cries  could 
not  be  quieted  in  the  night,  and  who  disturbed  his  father's 
sleep,  dashing  him  to  pieces  on  the  rocks  far  below.  On 
another  occasion  he  had  one  of  his  wives  dealt  with  in  the 


172  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

same  way,  and  finding  she  was  not  instantly  killed,  angrily 
ordered  her  brought  up  and  thrown  down  again. 

The  condition  of  the  Christians  in  these  wild  regions  is, 
on  the  whole,  better  now  .that  the  authority  of  the  Kurds 
is  replaced  by  that  of  the  Turks,  but  at  best,  life  is  at  a 
low  ebb  here.  What  is  saved  from  the  rapacity  of  the 
Kurd  is  extorted  by  the  Turkish  tax  collector.  Bloody  feuds 
among  themselves,  superstition,  and  ignorance,  go  to  make 
the  lives  of  these  Nestorians  most  pitiable.  Inhabiting,  as 
they  do,  the  steep  sides  and  the  narrow,  rocky  valleys  of 
these  mountains,  so  difficult  of  access  from  the  outer  world, 
most  of  them  can  barely  get  their  sustenance.  Driven  here 
many  years  ago  by  the  oppressive  and  rapacious  Kurd, 
they  still  cling  to  these  mountains  which  have  in  a  measure 
shielded  them  from  their  enemies,  and  which  yet  enable 
some  valleys  to  live  secure  from  tax  collectors.  But  it  is  not 
all  dark  in  these  mountains.  Where  the  gospel  has  entered 
the  transformation  of  the  individual,  and  even  of  the  village, 
is  very  striking.  Indeed,  the  only  hope  of  these  people, 
temporal  as  well  as  spiritual,  seems  to  be  the  gospel. 

We  had  intended  going  on  to  Baz,  meeting  there  all  the 
mountain  preachers,  and  holding  a  "  Knushya,"  but  after 
having  a  conference  with  the  Patriarch's  brother,  whom  it 
seemed  best  to  consult  regarding  Mar  Shimon's  position, 
also  telling  the  state  of  affairs  to  Mr.  Brown,  the  Anglican 
missionary  who  is  residing  at  Kochanis,  we  decided  to  sepa- 
rate, Mr.  Shedd  going  to  Jelu  and  Baz,  and  thence  to 
Amadia  to  help  the  Mission  Station  there,  and  I  to  Bash 
Kalleh  to  find  out  the  true  position  of  the  Patriarch,  and  to 
see  what  could  be  done.  Two  days'  journey,  crossing  a  pass 
probably  not  less  than  14,000  feet  high,  brought  me  to  Bash 
Kalleh.  The  Vali  at  first  seemed  greatly  irritated  by  my 
inquiries  concerning  Mar  Shimon,  but  after  a  good  deal 
of  very  polite  but  earnest  argument,  he  saw  that  our  relation 
to  Mar  Shimon  was  one  that  would  not  be  erased  by  his 
high  tones  and  threatening  language,  and  so  he  afterwards 
listened  to  reason,  and  took  an  oath  that  Mar  Shimon 
would  be  dismissed  just  as  soon  as  he  himself  left  Bash 
Kalleh.  Later  on  it  became  evident  that  the  Patriarch 
was  a  prisoner,  and  he  was  expected  to  have  been  taken  to 
Van,  and  kept  there  or  removed  to  Constantinople — perhaps 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  173 

as  a  hostage  or  as  security  for  the  payment  of  taxes  by  all 
the  independent  tribes,  or  perhaps  in  the  hope  of  preventing 
his  joining  (with  his  people)  the  Armenians  in  their  desire 
to  throw  off  the  Turkish  yoke. 

On  returning  again  to  Gawar,  and  seeing  the  officials  in  a 
social  and  professional  way  a  second  time,  some  of  the 
restrictions  on  our  work  were  removed.  We  have  not  been 
able  to  get  books  to  our  schools  in  that  part  of  Turkey, 
except  as  they  were  carried  across  the  border  by  friendly 
Kurds  avoiding  the  censors,  but  now  all  that  are  required 
can  go  through  in  the  regular  way  without  detention. 

The  work  in  our  mountain  field  will  be  reported  else- 
where. Suffice  it  to  say  here  that  the  Turkish  government 
continues  to  oppose  and  to  obstruct  our  work  in  the  schools 
and  villages  as  much  as  possible,  especially  from  head- 
quarters. 

A  recent  letter  from  Constantinople  brings  us  the  dis- 
appointing news  that  nothing  can  be  obtained  from  the 
central  government  in  the  way  of  orders  or  permits  for  our 
preachers  and  teachers,  nor  even  for  a  Millat  Vakeel,  if 
he  be  a  Protestant,  so  that  for  the  present,  at  least,  we  must 
worry  along,  making  the  best  terms  we  can  with  the  local 
authorities. 

His  son  Clement  was  with  him  on  this  trip,  and  his 
recollections  bring  out  some  of  his  father's  characteris- 
tics : — 

A  few  scenes  and  incidents  from  tours  to  the  Kurdish 
Mountains  in  the  summers  of  1893  and  1894,  set  down  as 
they  come  to  memory,  throw  a  strong  light  upon  his  char- 
acter. 

These  trips  were,  in  fact,  vacations  to  him,  though  he  did 
a  vast  amount  of  work,  for  they  set  him  free  from  the 
routine  of  hospital  work  and  the  importunities  of  the  op- 
pressed villagers,  and  gave  him  an  opportunity  to  see  new 
sights  and  faces. 

He  was  always  a  lover  of  nature  and  an  enthusiastic 
mountain  climber,  and  as  we  travelled  on  our  pack  mules 
along  level  stretches  in  sight  of  great  snow-clad  ranges,  or 


174      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

toiled  slowly  up  a  valley  pass,  all  the  heat  of  the  day  to  be 
rewarded  at  the  summit  with  a  matchless  outlook  over  snowy 
ranges  and  deep  canyons,  his  companions  would  feel  his 
exhilaration  of  spirit.  His  love  of  a  wide  outlook  was 
that  of  a  mountaineer,  as  indeed  he  was  by  birth  and  boy- 
hood, and  I  think  he  was  seldom  happier  than  when  able 
to  look  from  some  commanding  position  as  far  as  his  vision 
could  carry.  He  was  naturally  reticent  of  these  feelings 
to  the  natives,  who  indeed  do  not  understand  them,  but 
with  me  and  other  American  companions,  as  I  recall,  his 
whole  talk  as  we  travelled  along  was  of  these  things.  Once, 
I  remember,  we  took  a  day  off  just  for  mountain  climbing 
and  from  our  camp — which  was  already  11,000  feet  above 
sea  level — we  started  with  a  few  natives  to  climb  one  of  the 
steep  and  rugged  fingers  which  makes  that  hand-like  cluster 
of  peaks  called  Tura  Jelu.  It  was  as  stiff  mountain  climb- 
ing as  an  Alpinist  would  have  cared  for,  and  we  often  had 
to  halt  for  breathing  and  resting  spells  some  of  the  party 
were  in  sore  need  of. 

Finally,  after  hours  of  hard  work  and,  towards  the  end, 
of  almost  hand-over-hand  climbing,  we  reached  the  summit. 
Our  aneroid  had  long  since  reached  its  limit  of  15,000  feet, 
and,  from  what  we  knew  of  surrounding  altitudes,  we  be- 
lieved we  were  fully  16,000  feet  above  sea-level.  Father 
had  hoped  particularly  that  we  would  be  able  to  get  a  glimpse 
of  Lake  Urumia,  now  four  days'  journey  away,  but  the 
intervening  mountains  proved  too  high.  But  the  air  was 
wonderfully  clear,  and  ninety  miles  or  so  north  we  could 
dimly  make  out  Ararat,  while  southward,  over  countless 
ranges,  we  could  see  where  the  mountains  at  last  came  to 
an  end  in  the  plains  of  Tigris.  It  was  one  of  those  sights 
that  cannot  be  forgotten,  and  I  recall  how  anxious  he  was 
to  stay  for  the  sunset,  but  that,  of  course,  was  impossible,  as 
our  camp  had  to  be  reached  before  nightfall. 

I  suppose  there  are  few  places  in  the  world  where  a 
physician's  skill  and  reputation  will  make  greater  impres- 
sion than  in  Kurdistan,  for  the  people  are  not  so  barbarous 
as  not  to  appreciate  the  blessing  of  surgery  and  medicine, 
and  yet  such  a  visitation  is  only  of  the  rarest  occurrence. 
So  at  every  village  where  we  stopped,  every  sick  or  ailing 
being  was  brought  to  him  in  an  incredibly  short  time. 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  175 

The  most  chronic  patients  often  came  with  as  great  a  con- 
fidence of  speedy  cure  as  those  few  who  shammed  their  ail- 
ments in  order  to  receive  the  doctor's  attention.  His  store 
of  medicines  was  limited  to  a  couple  of  little  chests  in  our 
saddlebags,  so  he  would  prescribe,  as  far  as  possible,  home 
remedies.  It  was,  accordingly,  a  great  rest  to  him  when 
once  in  a  while  he  would  camp  out  away  from  the  villages, 
though  this  was  somewhat  dangerous.  There,  in  the  free- 
dom of  the  mountainside,  and  away  from  the  curious  or 
reverent  gaze  of  the  natives,  he  got  his  best  rest.  It  meant 
much  to  him  to  shake  off  the  restrictions  that  Oriental 
etiquette  builds  up  around  a  man  of  prominence  in  a  com- 
munity— for  he  was  still  a  young  man,  and  many  intimate 
friends  would  scarcely  have  reconciled  his  almost  boyish 
exuberance  and  irresponsibility  with  the  decorum  and  dig- 
nity of  his  manner  when  among  Persians. 

Yet  even  on  these  mountain  tours  he  could  not  confine  his 
work  to  simply  that  of  a  doctor.  He  was  inevitably  drawn 
into  the  position  of  mediator  between  the  oppressed  peasants 
and  their  masters;  the  latter  were  in  many  cases  the  Turk- 
ish officials,  far  harder  men  to  deal  with  than  their  Persian 
counterparts,  for  with  the  better  knowledge  of  Western 
ways,  they  at  the  same  time  were  more  insolent  and  cruel. 
One  pleasant  instance,  however,  I  recall  when  we  were  stop- 
ping at  the  Turkish  town  and  outpost  of  Dizza,  in  the  plain 
of  Gawar.  As  our  arrival  in  town  caused  considerable  stir, 
it  was  both  politic  and  natural  to  call  upon  the  Bin  Bashi, 
or  Turkish  commandant.  We  found  him  in  the  barracks 
that  from  a  little  hill  overlook  the  town  and  surrounding 
country.  He  was  a  charming  host,  and  before  we  left,  in 
order  to  do  an  honour  to  father,  and  probably  also  to  make 
a  little  display  of  his  own  power,  he  ordered  the  bugles  to 
sound  an  alarm,  and  in  less  than  five  minutes  had  his  whole 
battalion  out  under  arms,  and  then  proceeded  to  give  an 
exhibition  drill  of  his  white-uniformed  and  red-capped  sol- 
diers that  would  have  done  credit  to  any  garrison. 

The  town  of  Bash  Kalleh  was  the  scene  of  a  large  en- 
campment of  Kurdish  levies  for  the  Turkish  army,  and 
the  Vali  of  Van,  or  Governor-General  of  all  this  district, 
was  there  to  inspect  them  in  person.  He  had  induced  the 
Patriarch  to  come  also,  and  when  once  in  his  power  had 


176  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

practically  made  him  his  prisoner,  hoping  thereby  to  force 
Turkish  authority  among  certain  semi-independent  Nes- 
torian  tribes.  It  was  a  high-handed  proceeding  which  the 
cool  and  unscrupulous  veteran  of  many  wars  thought  to 
carry  through  without  question.  Believing  the  Vali's  action 
wrong,  and  seeing  an  opportunity  to  make  a  firm  friend  of 
the  Patriarch,  father  determined  to  obtain  his  release,  and 
with  this  in  view  promptly  called  on  the  Vali.  I  recollect 
that  we  were  received  very  coolly  by  the  Turk,  although  with 
formal  politeness,  but  father,  with  all  the  assurance  of  a 
chosen  representative  of  a  foreign  power,  firmly  stated  his 
demand,  and  backed  it  up  by  arguments  so  convincing  that 
the  Governor  was  finally  beaten  at  his  own  game,  and  gave 
his  reluctant  consent  to  Mar  Shimon's  return. 

The  incident  has  always  impressed  me,  as  I  believe  it  has 
others,  with  the  fact  that  he  was  capable  of  making  very 
bold  strokes  with  slim  chances  of  success,  quite  contrary 
to  his  usual  patience  and  prudence  in  such  matters. 

The  visible  outcome  of  Dr.  Cochran's  visit  [wrote  Dr. 
J.  H.  Shedd,  the  senior  missionary]  was  a  pleasant  con- 
firmation of  the  friendly  relations  begun  last  year  with  the 
Turks  in  authority,  and  also  with  the  Patriarch.  It  seems 
more  and  more  possible  that  this  people,  as  a  people,  are 
to  be  attached  to  Protestantism,  and  not  to  the  Papacy,  nor 
to  remain  as  they  are. 

He  was  not  very  well  this  summer,  but  had  a  little 
rest  on  the  treeless  waste  of  the  lakeside.  He  needed 
all  he  could  get  for  the  cares  and  burdens  of  the  fall. 
Mrs.  Cochran's  journal  letters  will  tell  the  story  of  the 
rest  of  the  year: — 

HOME,  August  26th. — Last  week  there  was  a  dreadful 
murder  by  a  mob  in  the  market,  of  an  Armenian  Christian. 
Until  to-day  all  the  Armenians  have  closed  their  shops  from 
fear,  and  the  city  is  in  rather  a  disturbed  state.  Soldiers 
are  guarding  the  Christian  quarters.  Friendly  Mussulmans 
have  sent  word  to  our  prominent  Nestorians  not  to  be  out 
in  public  much.  Our  Governor  was  away  at  the  time,  and 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  177 

the  acting  Governor  has  no  power.  Now  we  hear  that  our 
old  Governor  has  been  deposed  and  a  new  one  is  coming 
from  Tabriz.  Yesterday  the  mullahs  were  all  in  the  mosques, 
making  a  great  uproar,  and  declaring  they  would  not  re- 
ceive this  new  man,  would  stone  him  out  if  he  came.  Such 
things  have  been  done;  the  ecclesiastics  have  the  chief  power 
in  this  country.  The  roughs  who  committed  the  murder  fear 
punishment,  and  if  they  do  not  get  it  may  make  trouble. 
Joe  is  sending  a  letter  to  the  Crown  Prince  to-day,  hoping 
he  will  believe  his  word  as  to  the  occurrences  here  and  not 
all  the  stories  that  he  has  been  told.  The  consuls,  too,  have 
all  been  informed. 

SEPTEMBER  5th. — The  new  Governor  is  expected  to-morrow 
or  next  day.  The  Crown  Prince  sent  for  the  acting  Gov- 
ernor and  the  mullahs  to  come  to  the  telegraph  office,  and 
there  he  told  them  that  he  had  appointed  the  Governor  now 
on  the  way,  and  they  must  receive  him,  and  keep  peace  in 
the  city.  There  is  a  general  feeling  of  lawlessness  all  over 
the  plain.  Mussulmans  seem  to  feel  free  to  abuse  Chris- 
tians, and  there  is  no  redress.  Joe  says  that  as  he  goes 
about  the  city  to  see  sick  here  and  there,  people,  and  even 
children,  revile  him  up  and  down,  a  thing  which  very  seldom 
happened  in  past  years.  These  are  hard  times  for  our 
people.  They  feel  in  danger  and  dare  not  resist  any  vio- 
lence done  them  or  their  property.  This  mob,  of  course, 
was  a  sudden  thing,  but  for  a  long  time  there  has  been  hard 
talk  against  Christians  by  Mussulmans.  They  say,  "  Why 
are  you  raising  your  heads  so  high,  dressing  so  finely,  and 
living  so  well,  riding  your  horses  while  we  walk,  and  getting 
so  much  education?  You  must  be  put  down."  The  various 
representatives  of  foreign  powers  have  been  informed  of  the 
state  of  affairs,  and  we  will  see  if  there  is  any  protest. 

SEPTEMBER  28th. — I  think  I  wrote  you  that  Joe  went  to 
Salmas  to  see  a  sick  Armenian  lady.  He  returned  Tuesday 
evening.  He  rode  all  night  on  Saturday  and  came  near 
meeting  with  a  serious  accident.  He  had  with  him  one  of 
the  medical  students,  and  the  man  who  always  goes  with 
the  post  horses  to  return  them.  About  midnight  they  met 
the  mail  coming.  There  were  two  horses  loaded  with  money, 


178  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

several  guards,  besides  the  regular  postman,  a  company  of 
about  fifteen  persons.  As  soon  as  they  saw  our  company 
of  three  approaching,  they  thought  perhaps  they  were  rob- 
bers, and  began  shouting  to  them  to  stand  aside  or  they 
would  fire.  Joe  said  they  went  quite  out  of  the  road, 
calling  out  who  they  were,  but  the  answer  was,  "  It  makes 
no  difference,  the  Hakim  Sahib  or  the  King,  stand  back !  " 
and  they  fired  three  shots.  When  they  came  near,  one  man 
who  had  often  called  here  with  the  postmaster  recognized 
Joe,  and  made  profuse  apologies,  said  his  "  face  was  black," 
etc.,  etc.  I  suppose  they  were  looking  for  robbers  at  every 
turn,  and  were  too  excited  to  see  how  matters  stood. 

OCTOBER  6th. — We  had  an  interesting  evening  with  the 
medical  students  last  Wednesday.  We  have  them  every 
two  weeks.  This  time  I  wrote  some  questions  on  politeness 
and  honour,  and  gave  them  to  think  over.  There  were 
questions  on  politeness  to  ladies,  and  to  the  old,  on  defacing 
walls  and  buildings  with  names  and  pencil  marks.  One 
question  which  caused  a  lively  debate  was  this :  "  Is  it  right 
to  read  a  letter  addressed  to  another,  or  to  overlook  in 
reading  ? "  I  think  we  convinced  them  that  the  ways  of 
this  country  are  wrong  in  this  respect. 

OCTOBER  14th. — I'm  sure  I  don't  know  what  this  country 
is  coming  to.  Every  day  we  hear  of  fresh  oppressions  of 
the  Christians  by  the  Mussulmans.  I  used  to  feel  quite 
secure  in  this  country,  although  in  the  midst  of  people  of 
a  hostile  religion.  I  never  felt  afraid  of  them,  for  they 
have  always  seemed  so  truly  friendly  to  Joe,  and  he  has  had 
so  much  influence  with  them.  The  other  day  an  Armenian 
made  a  private  call,  and  told  Joe  that  the  Governor  was 
talking  badly  about  him  before  some  of  the  smaller  Khans 
and  mullahs  and  roughs  of  the  city.  He  was  present,  and 
heard  him  say,  "  The  doctor  meddles  too  much  in  our 
affairs.  He  has  just  run  Laya  Khanem  off  to  Tabriz  (the 
wife  of  the  murdered  Armenian),  and  it  is  he  who  is  backing 
up  Mr.  Werner"  (a  German  who  was  ill  treated  by  the 
custom  house  officials).  Then  some  one  else  spoke  up,  and 
said,  "Yes,  that  is  so.  And  at  the  time  of  the  Kurdish 
raid  he  rode  at  the  head  of  the  Kurds  as  they  advanced  on 
the  city." 


"  IN  JOURNEYINGS  OFTEN  "  179 

DECEMBER  7th. — The  other  day  Joe  was  called  to  see  a 
very  poor  Mussulman  woman  in  the  city.  She  and  her 
husband  and  three  children  lived  in  a  wee  bit  of  a  room 
about  six  feet  by  nine.  The  other  doctors,  even  Dr.  Oshanna, 
had  given  her  up,  but  Joe  fortunately  was  able  to  relieve 
her.  The  student  who  was  with  Joe  asked  him  what  they 
should  ask  as  pay,  and  Joe  told  him  he  thought  they  had 
better  give  something  instead,  they  looked  so  very  poor. 
What  was  his  surprise  when  the  husband  put  a  toman  into 
his  hand  at  the  door.  Joe  told  him  no,  he  could  not  take 
anything  from  him,  but  the  man  insisted,  and  would  not 
take  the  money  back.  He  said,  "  We  are  taught  not  to  eat 
the  bread  of  you  Christians  or  we  will  be  shut  out  of 
Heaven,  but  the  fact  is  you  will  reach  Heaven  long  before 
we  hare  reached  even  the  outer  vestibule." 


XI 
« IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  " 

THE  chief  event  of  the  following  year  was  the  Mis- 
sionary Conference  in  Hamadan.  The  people  of 
northern  Persia  had  been  left  to  the  missionaries 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  with  the  exception  of  the 
Nestorians  in  the  Urumia  region,  to  whom  the  Roman 
Catholic  and  Anglican  missionaries  had  also  come 
some  years  after  the  American  missionaries,  the  former 
in  1838  and  the  latter  in  1886.  For  some  time  the 
Presbyterian  missionaries  who  had  met  annually  in 
two  separate  missions  had  felt  that  a  joint  conference 
to  discuss  thoroughly  all  questions  of  missionary  pol- 
icy in  Persia  was  desirable,  and  the  long  anticipated 
meeting  was  held  in  Hamadan  in  September  and  Oc- 
tober, 1894,  with  representatives  present  from  the  sta- 
tions in  Urumia,  Tabriz,  Salmas,  Teheran,  and  Hama- 
dan. Dr.  Shedd,  and  Mrs.  Shedd,  and  Dr.  Cochran 
were  the  representatives  from  Urumia.  The  year  was 
full  of  other  interesting  events  and  experiences  also. 
In  January  another  son,  his  last  child,  named  Andrew, 
was  born.  There  were  constant  cases  of  injustice  in 
which  his  influence  was  sought  by  the  oppressed.  The 
very  success  of  the  work  had  brought  added  difficulties. 
The  wants  and  ideals  of  the  people  had  been  enlarged, 
and  native  workers  often  became  discontented,  while 
restless  spirits  who  had  discovered  what  kind  of  criti- 
cism of  missionaries  pleased  the  American  public,  de- 

180 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  181 

claimed  against  the  wealth  of  the  missionaries, — who 
received  a  salary  of  $925  per  annum  for  married  men, — 
and  pictured  in  American  newspapers  the  little  mud- 
walled  sanitarium  on  the  lakeside  as  a  castle. 

Extracts  from  Mrs.  Gochran's  letters  will  suffice  to 
set  forth  the  general  course  of  his  life  and  work : — 

FEBRUARY  9th,  1894. — We  daily  hear  stories  of  wrong  and 
oppression.  The  other  day  two  Jews  came  to  Joe  with  their 
tale  of  woe.  Their  brother,  they  said,  was  in  the  market 
standing  with  his  back  to  the  street  looking  into  a  shop. 
A  Khan  came  by  and  ordered  his  servant  to  strike  this 
man  because  his  back  was  turned.  The  Jew  apologized, 
said  he  did  not  see  the  Khan,  but  several  men  seized  and 
began  to  beat  him.  The  Khan  cried  out,  "  Away  with  him 
to  the  Blue  Mosque ! "  That  is  the  place  where  Agha 
Jahn,  the  Armenian  merchant,  was  killed,  so  the  crowd 
dragged  him  away.  But  a  Sunni  Mussulman  interposed, 
and  persuaded  them  to  let  the  Jew  go.  He  has  been  in  bed 
since,  severely  ill  of  his  wounds  and  fright.  The  brothers 
begged  Joe  to  do  something  to  get  justice  done.  In  the  case 
of  Agha  Jahn  this  is  the  settlement  the  government  pro- 
pose: they  will  give  the  widow  150  tomans  now,  and  twenty- 
five  tomans  yearly  to  her  boys  or  to  the  heirs  of  Agha  Jahn 
as  long  as  there  shall  be  any,  and  as  long  as  the  government 
shall  last.  They  wish  Joe  to  get  her  to  agree  to  this. 
For  this  country  it  is  as  good  a  settlement  as  could  be 
expected. 

JUNE  16th. — Joe  is  treating  the  Governor  for  rheumatism. 
He  is  the  same  one  who  was  here  several  years  ago.  He  is 
better,  but  the  servants  beg  to  have  Joe  come  often,  for 
they  say  the  Governor's  heart  opens  by  his  coming,  and  he 
does  not  revile  them  so  much.  He  is  such  a  very  big  man 
that  he  cannot  even  hold  his  tea  glass  or  his  water  pipe, 
but  like  a  big  baby  has  his  servants  to  hold  them  for  him. 
He  sent  me  a  present  of  thirty  tomans  yesterday,  said  he 
could  not  find  a  good  piece  of  shawl  goods,  so  sent  this  for 
"  handkerchief  money."  Persian  equivalent  for  pin  money, 
I  suppose.  He  said  this  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  medical 


182  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

work;  he  would  settle  his  medical  bills  later.  But  of  course 
we  shall  not  keep  it.  The  rule  is  that  all  receipts  in  all 
departments  are  turned  back  to  the  Board.  But  I  should 
like  to  use  this  for  the  hospital.  For  instance,  there  is 
poor  old  Mena,  the  paralyzed  woman;  she  must  be  cared 
for  this  summer.  She  has  no  home,  and  she  must  be  cared 
for  during  her  last  days. 

JUNE  27th. — The  Governor  sent  word  that  he  would  call, 
so  there  was  a  great  flying  about  to  put  the  parlour  in  order 
and  have  tea  ready  for  him.  On  leaving  he  said  to  Joe,  "  I 
wish  always  to  be  where  you  are." 

SEIR,  July  13th. — Joe  and  Mr.  Labaree  have  gone  down 
to  be  in  the  city  to-night.  It  is  the  night  before  the  great 
day  of  Muharram,  and  to-morrow  morning  early  the  proces- 
sion will  be  out,  and  people  will  be  cutting  and  beating  them- 
selves. They  seem  to  grow  more  zealous  every  year..  The 
Christians  are  very  much  afraid,  for  all  this  past  year  the 
Mussulmans  have  been  acting  so  badly  towards  them.  Joe 
does  not  really  appreheJd  any  trouble,  but  he  thought  he 
would  be  in  the  city,  so  as  to  get  help  quickly  from  the 
Governor  should  there  be  any  outbreak  against  the  Chris- 
tians. I  do  not  like  to  think  of  him  as  down  in  the  midst 
of  that  fanatical  crowd,  but  still  I  want  him  to  be  where 
duty  lies.  They  have  voted  Joe  off  for  another  mountain 
trip  of  three  or  four  weeks  with  Mr.  St.  Pierre.  Clement 
is  going,  too.  I  am  sorry  to  have  Joe  go,  for  he  is  tired 
and  such  a  trip  is  no  rest,  for  all  the  people  gather  when 
they  hear  that  a  doctor  is  coming.  He  is  also  voted  as 
second  delegate  to  the  Hamadan  Conference. 

SEIR,  July  17th. — Last  Saturday  evening  a  sad  affair  hap- 
pened at  Haidarlu,  the  Mussulman  village  below  us  on  the 
mountain.  I  think  I  wrote  you  some  time  ago  about  the 
poor  people  from  Eel  in  Turkey,  how  they  came  down  here 
to  find  a  home,  twenty-six  families  of  them,  because  they 
were  so  oppressed.  The  master  of  Haidarlu  took  them,  but 
they  have  had  a  very  hard  time.  We  gave  them  seed  wheat 
this  spring,  but  the  village  people  have  not  let  them  have 
any  water,  and  have  continually  turned  their  cattle  loose 


"IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS"  183 

in  their  fields.  Saturday  evening  a  number  were  sitting  in 
a  yard,  when  a  Mussulman  came  in  and  asked,  "  Why  did 
you  harvest  that  grass  to-day  ? "  One  answered,  "  The  Mas- 
ter gave  it."  But  he  was  struck  down,  and  more  Mussul- 
mans came  and  beat  and  threw  stones  until  they  had 
wounded  ten  men  and  six  women,  besides  one  or  two  chil- 
dren. That  evening,  as  we  were  sitting  on  the  roof,  a 
number  came  up  to  see  Joe,  bringing  some  of  their  wounded, 
and  to  ask  what  they  should  do  for  redress.  Poor  people! 
they  looked  so  disheartened  with  the  rags  and  their  wounds, 
as  though  they  thought  there  was  no  place  for  them  in  the 
world.  It  was  a  pathetic  group  as  they  stood  there  in  the 
bright  moonlight.  On  departing,  the  leader  raised  his  hands 
solemnly  to  heaven,  saying,  "  We  have  only  a  God  in 
heaven,  and  you  on  earth."  Joe  is  doing  what  he  can  to 
represent  the  matter  fairly  to  the  Governor,  and  he  seems 
disposed  to  do  justice. 

Nothing  serious  happened  on  the  great  day  of  Muharram. 
Joe  and  Mr.  Labaree  spent  the  night  in  the  city,  and  they 
said  that  the  crowd  seemed  to  yell  with  redoubled  vigour 
as  they  passed  our  doors,  but  there  was  no  attack. 

JULY  22nd. — The  mountain  party  started  yesterday.  We 
went  down  the  day  before,  and  had  hard  work  to  get  every- 
thing ready.  I  never  saw  anything  like  the  amount  of 
preparation  such  a  trip  involves.  It  seems  very  lonely,  and 
it  does  not  add  to  my  peace  of  mind  to  know  that  the  Kurds 
are  fighting  along  the  road  they  are  to  go.  A  friendly 
Kurdish  mullah  escorts  them,  and  declares  he  can  take 
them  through  safely.  Joe  seems  to  trust  him,  so  I  suppose 
I  must. 

AUGUST  llth. — Joe  and  Clement  are  home  again.  They 
came  two  days  earlier  than  expected.  I  was  down  at  the 
college  Wednesday,  when  they  suddenly  arrived.  They  are 
very  brown,  and  pretty  tired.  It  was  a  hard  journey, 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  and  they  were  constantly 
thronged  by  sick  early  and  late.  I  am  trying  to  keep  Joe 
up  here  to  rest  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  but  he  has  to  go  down 
to-day  to  see  some  people  from  Sulduz,  or  else  a  lady  and 
about  twenty  servants  would  all  come  up  here  to  be  enter- 
tained. 


184  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Early  in  September  he  left  for  Hamadan.  The  Con- 
ference began  September  28th,  1894,  and  closed  October 
10th.  It  was  hoped  that  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety's Missions  in  Bagdad  and  in  Ispahan,  and  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Mission  in  Arabia  might  be  repre- 
sented, but  this  was  impossible.  These  Missions 
showed  a  warm  interest  in  the  Conference,  and  it  was 
only  the  necessity  of  defending  their  position  against 
the  machinations  of  bitter  opponents  which  kept  the 
Ispahan  missionaries  away.  Dr.  Cochran  served  on 
the  Committee  on  Protestant  Churches,  was  one  of  the 
two  secretaries,  and  presented  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  Medical  Work.  In  addition  he  presented  a 
paper  on  "  What  is  the  Appropriate  Place  of  Medical 
Work  as  a  Missionary  Agency,  and  how  Can  it  Be 
Made  more  Effectual  ?  "  This  paper  set  forth  clearly 
his  convictions: — 

What  is  the  appropriate  place  of  medical  work  as 
a  missionary  agency,  and  how  can  it  be  made  more 
effectual  ? 

I  can  perhaps  do  no  better  in  getting  at  our  object  than 
to  look  especially  at  our  own  work  in  Urumia — at  its 
failures,  and  at  what  we  may  humbly  point  to  as  its  suc- 
cesses. There,  as  in  many  Missions,  we  have  first,  the 
office,  or  dispensary  work;  second,  the  visits  to  the  homes 
of  all  classes  and  sects;  third,  the  training  of  medical  stu- 
dents; fourth,  the  professional  and  social  relations  toward 
the  government  officials,  land  proprietors,  and  other  men  in 
high  positions,  which  bring  with  it  not  a  little  civil  work; 
fifth,  touring;  sixth,  hospital  work.  Each  has  its  especial 
and  individual  sphere,  while  collectively,  they  have  their 
influence  on  the  masses  and  on  the  government. 

In  the  dispensary  when  largely  attended,  the  work,  to  my 
mind,  is  the  least  satisfactory  to  the  doctor  and  to  our  work 
at  large.  It  is  our  rule  to  hare  some  form  of  religious 
service  in  the  waiting-room,  prior  to  treating  the  patient, 
and  every  now  and  then  some  one  will  say,  "  Enough  of 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  185 

that;  we  have  come  here  to  get  relief  for  our  diseases  and 
not  to  be  preached  to."  Still  generally  all  classes  and  sects, 
men  and  women,  are  willing  to  hear  a  story  from  the  Gospel 
— a  prayer  for  a  blessing  on  the  treatment  to  be  given,  or 
to  engage  in  religious  conversation.  People  helped  physi- 
cally, of  whatever  nationality  or  creed,  are  likely  to  do  our 
work  good  in  a  small  or  large  degree,  and  open  the  way  to 
others.  Many,  undoubtedly,  are  not  helped  by  their  single 
visit  and  few  doses  of  medicine.  Some  to  whom  a  course 
of  treatment  is  prescribed,  never  take  a  dose  of  the  medi- 
cine, or  will  take  one  dose,  and  if  not  helped,  give  it  up. 
Other  complicated  cases,  while  ready  and  anxious  to  follow 
the  physician's  directions,  are  not  cured  because  the  doctor, 
in  the  rush  of  patients  and  hurried  examination,  has  not  dis- 
covered the  real  trouble.  With  us,  too,  by  far  the  majority 
of  dispensary  cases  come  but  once.  The  city  is  one  and  a 
half  miles  away,  and  the  villages  are  all  the  way  from  one 
to  thirty  miles  off,  not  to  speak  of  a  large  number  of 
patients  who  come  from  much  longer  distances.  The  visits 
in  the  homes,  upon  the  sick,  no  matter  what  class  or  sect, 
is  to  me  a  far  more  interesting  work.  There  the  physician 
is  brought  in  direct  contact  and  sympathy,  not  only  with 
his  patient,  but  with  all  the  household  and  interested  friends, 
for  we  are  all  familiar  with  the  crowds  that  push  into  a 
house  when  the  physician  is  attending  a  sick  one.  In  such 
visits,  at  least  a  single  word  of  religious  truth,  or  comfort, 
or  teaching,  can  always  be  given,  and  very  often  interesting, 
and  I  trust  helpful,  conversations  are  held. 

Training  of  natives  to  do  medical  work  among  their  own 
people  is,  I  am  sure,  a  legitimate  and  useful  work  of  the 
medical  missionary.  So  far  as  I  know,  twenty-seven  young 
men,  and  one  young  woman  have  begun  the  study  of  medi- 
cine with  the  physicians  that  have  been  in  Urumia.  Of 
these,  two  were  taught  by  Dr.  Wright,  two  by  Dr.  Van 
Norden,  seven  by  Dr.  Holmes,  and  the  rest  by  myself  and 
Dr.  Miller.  Fourteen  of  the  twenty-seven  completed  their 
course  with  us,  and  are  practising  medicine  now,  or  have 
done  so  more  or  less.  A  class  of  seven  enters  this  fall. 
While  these  young  men  have  not  been  all  we  could  wish, 
still  I  am  sure  four  or  five  of  them  who  have  been  in 
practice  some  years,  have  been  a  great  blessing  to  their 


186      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

people,  and  we  have  reason  to  hope  that  those  who  graduated 
this  summer  will  also  be. 

Touring  has  its  strong  advocates  among  medical  mis- 
sionaries, as  well  as  some  who  do  not  consider  it  of  much 
yalue. 

While  accepting  it  as  very  true  that  many  for  whom  we 
prescribe  on  such  tours  are  not  cured  of  their  diseases,  it 
is  worth  our  while  if  we  cure  only  a  few,  since  I  am  sure 
we  can  do  good  in  other  ways.  It  does  good  to  get  out 
among  the  people  of  our  congregations  and  among  strangers. 
We  can  show  them  our  sympathy,  which  tells  for  as  much 
here  as  elsewhere.  We  can  often  help  them  in  their  oppres- 
sions. Medical  work,  on  tours  as  well  as  in  its  other  de- 
partments, recommends  not  only  the  doctor,  but  the  word 
that  is  preached.  It  is  a  form  of  charity  which  we  can 
give  without  harming  the  people  or  work.  If  we  gave  the 
poor  in  the  villages  clothes  or  money,  they  would  not  feel 
that  we  were  sacrificing  anything  for  their  good,  for  they 
believe  we  possess  inexhaustible  wealth.  They  would  con- 
sider that  we  wished  to  win  their  favour  for  some  selfish 
end.  But  here,  too,  just  as  with  the  itinerating  preacher, 
it  must  be  largely  a  work  of  seed  sowing.  Others  must 
harvest  the  fruits. 

The  hospital  work,  other  things  being  equal,  is  the  ideal 
form  of  doing  medical  missionary  work.  Our  hospital  in 
Urumia  was  opened  for  patients  in  1881.  In  a  hospital, 
the  humanitarian  aspect,  as  well  as  the  religious,  can  have 
its  full  sway.  There  the  patients  are  placed  entirely  under 
the  control  of  the  physicians.  There  is  no  interference  by 
the  many  would  be  advisers  which  he  had  in  his  own  home, 
nor  by  the  native  doctors.  Especially  in  the  line  of  surgery 
does  the  hospital  show  its  best  results.  Many  hundreds  are 
relieved,  many  hundreds  are  saved  from  lifelong  distress. 
Nothing  causes  so  much  amazement,  nothing  calls  forth  more 
grateful  acknowledgment  of  ability,  and  benefit  rendered 
than  the  cure  of  the  apparently  hopelessly  blind.  The  mis- 
sionary hospital  more  than  pays  from  a  humanitarian  view, 
physically  blessing  hundreds  of  helpless  ones  for  whom  there 
is  no  other  provision  made.  Doing  this  work  for  His  sake 
and  in  His  name  makes  it,  it  seems  to  me,  a  legitimate  part 
of  Christian  Missions.  I  fully  believe  that  the  hospital 


«  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  187 

conducted  aright  is  "  beneficent  enough,  persuasive  enough, 
Christlike  enough,  to  stand  on  its  own  merits  "  on  Mission- 
fields — but  we  can  say  much  more  of  it  than  this.  In  no 
form  of  medical  work  can  we  begin  to  do  so  much  for  the 
spiritual  good  of  our  patients.  Aside  from  the  sick  brought 
under  our  daily  influence,  many  of  their  friends  are  also 
reached.  Administering  to  their  daily  wants,  assuring  them 
that  we  are  constantly  in  need  of,  and  constantly  are  seek- 
ing God's  help  on  every  means  used  in  their  treatment — 
telling  them  of  His  readiness  and  ability  to  help,  and  add 
to  it  spiritual  blessings — these,  I  say,  have  their  influence 
upon  the  coldest  hearts, — upon  the  most  prejudiced  minds. 
Many  for  the  first  time  hear  the  Gospel  read  to  them  in  the 
hospital,  and  very  many  are  utterly  amazed  at  the  religion 
which  moves  its  adherents  to  do  what  is  done  by  medical 
Missions  for  the  needy  of  all  classes  and  faiths.  Every 
physician  must  have  many  illustrations  of  these  truths  in 
his  practice.  Many  so  touched,  do  much  good  to  our  cause 
at  large  when  they  return  to  their  homes.  It  is  embarrassing 
and  unpleasant  for  a  physician  to  have  to  say  so  much  of 
his  own  work  as  is  necessary  in  giving  such  an  account  of 
it  as  this,  and  yet,  if  we  bear  in  mind  that  all  the  triumphs 
of  medical  science  owe  their  very  existence  to  Christianity, 
the  Christian  physician  can  be  pardoned  when  he  points  to 
apparent  successes,  giving  all  the  praise  to  his  Master.  In 
going  about  the  villages  and  districts  from  which  our  pa- 
tients come,  we  often  find  that  they  have  told  their  friends 
of  what  they  saw  and  learned  in  the  hospital.  Often  these 
patients  are  the  first  to  greet  the  missionary  and  to  bring 
the  people  to  his  meetings,  and  to  do  anything  to  show  their 
appreciation  of  the  kindness  shown  them  in  the  hospital. 
The  religious  value  cannot  be  measured  by  the  number  of 
professing  Christians  which  the  hospital  and  other  medical 
work  has  produced — just  as  it  would  be  unfair  to  measure 
the  value  of  preaching  by  the  number  of  converts  to  a  given 
number  of  sermons.  Here  again  we  must  patiently  and 
faithfully  sow  the  seed  and  prayerfully  look  for  the  harvest. 
Another  acknowledged  benefit  of  medical  Missions  which 
I  will  simply  mention  is  the  friendship,  toleration,  and  in- 
fluence gained  with  the  government,  the  ecclesiastics,  and 
the  proprietors  of  the  villages  where  we  have,  or  wish  to 


188  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

open  work.  Many  illustrations  could  be  cited  here,  showing 
the  advantage  of  such  relations.  This  takes  up  much  time 
of  the  physician,  but  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  an  important 
part  of  our  work,  and  the  only  question  is,  How  can  we 
exert  a  more  decided  Christian  influence  on  these  men. 

So  much  for  a  hurried  survey  of  the  different  forms 
of  medical  missionary  work,  their  scope  and  character;  but 
the  principal  object  before  us  to-day  is  to  inquire  and  learn 
if  possible  how  we  can  make  this  arm  of  the  missionary 
service  a  greater  power  in  extending  the  Gospel  of  Christ 
in  Persia.  I  have  already  touched  on  this  question,  and 
to  sum  it  up  I  would  first  say:  The  missionary  physician 
should  endeavour  to  be,  as  he  indeed  must  be  to  obtain 
the  highest  success,  a  man  consecrated  to  Christ's  service, 
ever  bearing  in  mind  that  he,  like  his  clerical  brother, 
represents  his  King  in  this  land;  and  everything  that  he 
does  must  conform  to  this  high  position,  so  that  his  every 
act  and  word  and  bearing  shall  preach  his  Master's  Gospel. 
Second — He  should  be  a  skilful  physician.  He  should  keep 
abreast  of  the  times  in  his  profession.  He  will  be  visited 
by  every  form  of  disease  that  man  is  heir  to.  How  can  he 
lay  too  much  emphasis  on  the  necessity  of  hard  and  constant 
study?  Third — These  being  given  to  a  fair  degree  at  least, 
how  can  he  make  the  different  medical  agencies  more  effec- 
tually helpful?  In  my  dispensary  in  Urumia,  with  our  Nes- 
torians  and  Kurds,  our  Jews  and  Moslems  and  Armenians, 
I  do  not  see  that  we  can  do  more  than  we  have  been  doing, 
while  there  is  so  large  an  attendance  of  men  and  women 
of  these  different  sects  and  classes.  Fourth — In  the  visits 
to  the  homes,  let  us  take  advantage  of  the  good  opportunities 
afforded,  and  let  us  be  more  faithful  in  sharing  with  them 
the  sustaining  and  comforting  promises  which  we  enjoy  while 
sick.  The  peculiarly  good  chance  to  do  good  here  brings 
its  corresponding  obligation  to  do  it.  Fifth — In  the  hos- 
pital there  should  be  regular  systematic  religious  work.  We 
should  endeavour  to  secure  and  constantly  keep  a  high 
Christian  tone  in  the  institution.  This  is  much  more  easily 
said  than  done,  for  it  means  that  the  physicians  in  charge 
must  constantly  bear  themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  shall 
command,  not  only  the  respect  of  the  patients  and  all  con- 
nected with  the  hospital,  but  they  must  also  be  examples 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  189 

of  a  high  Christian  living.  It  means  that  the  nurses  must 
be  thoroughly  good  men  and  women.  It  means  that  all  the 
employees  and  the  medical  students  must  live  before  these 
people  who  are  gathered  together  from  many  different  places, 
representing  different  nationalities  and  creeds,  such  lives  as 
shall  be  not  only  above  reproach,  but  such  as  shall  draw 
the  patients  to  Christ.  Here  is  one  of  the  most  discourag- 
ing features  of  our  work,  and  how  to  secure  the  desired 
tone  in  our  institution  and  the  desired  influence  on  our 
patients  is  often  one  of  the  heaviest  burdens  we  have  to  bear. 
I  have  a  sincere  and  strong  conviction  that  the  work  of 
the  medical  missionary,  if  conducted  as  it  should  be  and 
as  it  can  be,  is  a  very  important  branch  of  the  missionary 
service — a  very  direct  power  in  evangelistic  work.  Some 
one  has  said,  "It  is  the  divinely  appointed  substitute  for 
miracles — in  its  range  of  influence — in  the  self-conscious 
ability  of  the  physician  to  give  relief — and  in  the  marvellous 
cure  which  is  effected  through  medical  or  surgical  skill." 
It  is  a  signal  illustration  of  the  beneficent  work  of  the 
Gospel.  Happily,  the  Gospel  message  is  not  merely  a  mes- 
sage of  words,  it  is  a  message  of  deeds  as  well.  I  am  sure 
I  express  the  thoughts  and  desires  of  all  our  medical  mis- 
sionaries in  Persia  when  I  say  that  realizing  the  importance 
of  this  arm  of  the  missionary  service  if  conducted  aright, 
and  after  the  example  of  the  Great  Physician,  and  appre- 
ciating the  responsibility  and  duty  devolving  upon  us,  we 
do  desire  to  make  our  department  more  effectual  in  hastening 
the  coming  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  among  the  peoples 
for  whom  we  work,  and  to  this  end  we  earnestly  ask  the 
counsel  and  the  prayers  of  this  Conference. 

Immediately  after  the  Conference  he  returned  to 
Urumia  by  the  slow  horseback  travel  which  has  been 
until  recently  the  only  means  of  transportation  in 
Persia,  and  which  consumes  nearly  three  weeks  in  the 
journey  of  309  miles  from  Hamadan  to  Urumia. 

The  year  1895  was  to  change  all  the  world  to  Dr. 
Cochran  through  his  wife's  death.  The  year  began 
with  the  death  of  a  brother  of  the  Patriarch.  Mrs. 
Cochran  wrote: — 


190      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

FEBRUARY  3rd. — Such  a  day  as  we  had  yesterday!  I 
think  that  I  wrote  you  last  week  that  we  had  sent  and 
brought  the  Patriarch's  brother,  who  was  sick  in  Dizzatika. 
He  grew  worse  rapidly,  had  typhoid  fever.  He  died  early 
yesterday  morning.  It  seemed  very  sad,  a  stranger  here, 
only  servants  with  him.  His  wife  and  seven  children  are 
with  the  Patriarch  in  Kochanis.  The  servants  thought  it 
would  be  impossible  to  take  the  body  to  Kochanis  over  the 
mountains  at  this  season,  and  wished  him  buried  in  the 
Old  Church  cemetery  in  Mart  Mariana  in  the  city. 

Joe  went  out  before  breakfast,  and  told  Agha  Bazurk  to 
go  right  to  work  and  engage  cooks,  and  prepare  dinner  for 
a  hundred  or  more.  I  believe  they  had  four  sheep  and  125 
pounds  of  rice.  We  knew  there  would  be  various  callers, 
and  so  hastily  put  the  parlour  to  rights.  The  news  spread 
rapidly.  Soon  the  Englishmen  came,  and  the  Old  Church 
Bishop,  Mar  Gabriel,  and  the  Turkish  vice-consul,  and 
others,  our  Kashas,  and  those  of  the  Old  Church.  While 
Joe  was  engaged  with  them,  word  came  that  about  sixty 
people  had  gathered  in  the  college,  and  coffee  was  needed. 
It  is  always  passed  to  those  who  call  at  such  times.  By 
the  time  that  it  was  ready  and  Mrs.  Coan  had  sent  me  more 
cups,  word  came  that  there  were  one  hundred  gathered,  then 
two  hundred,  and  I  presume  it  was  furnished  to  about  300 
in  all.  It  kept  Surra  busy  making  it,  and  the  medical 
students  served  it.  A  number  of  the  boys'  rooms  in  the 
college  were  cleared  and  guests  seated  there. 

Mr.  Allen  made  the  coffin;  there  was  not  time  to  make  a 
nicely  polished  exterior,  so  it  was  covered  with  dark  blue 
velvet,  and  lined  with  white  silk.  Soon  a  difficulty  arose. 
It  seems  that  no  dead  body  is  ever  allowed  to  enter  the 
city  gates.  Joe  sent  to  the  Governor  for  permission,  but 
it  was  not  granted.  So  Charbash  was  then  selected  as  the 
burial  place.  Some  of  the  friends  wanted  the  band  lately 
brought  here  by  the  Governor,  so  that  was  asked  for  and 
obtained,  and  the  Governor  and  Sarparast  both  sent  led 
horses.  After  dinner  for  about  300,  as  many  as  could 
assembled  in  the  chapel,  and  there  was  a  short  service 
conducted  by  Mr.  Coan.  Such  a  grand  mix  you  never 
saw — High  Church  (Anglican),  Old  Church  (Nestorian), 
and  New  Church  (Evangelical),  but  in  one  way  it  was 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  191 

pleasant;  all  seemed  to  have  a  national  feeling  aroused  and 
forgot  for  the  moment  the  differences  of  sect.  Some  of  our 
Kashas  read  and  prayed,  and  Mr.  Coan  spoke,  also  the 
Old  Church  Bishop,  and  all  through  the  service  the  Old 
Church  priests  were  swinging  incense,  and  sang  one  of 
their  funeral  dirges  as  the  coffin  was  removed  from  the 
chapel.  It  was  placed  in  the  sleigh,  the  band  just  ahead,  and 
really  the  music  thrilled  one  who  had  not  heard  a  band  for 
five  years.  A  procession  of  over  two  hundred  on  foot  and 
on  horseback  followed  to  Charbash.  Joe  said  the  long 
avenue  leading  to  the  city  was  black  with  people  as  they 
approached,  Nestorians  and  Mussulmans.  It  was  about  dark 
when  they  reached  Charbash,  and  the  whole  village,  men, 
women,  and  children,  came  out  with  torches  to  meet  them. 
The  body  was  placed  in  the  Old  Church,  and  will  be  buried 
to-morrow. 

You  will  perhaps  wonder  why  so  much  was  done,  but  he 
was  one  of  the  heads  of  the  nation,  and  so  in  that  way  it 
was  fitting,  and  it  will  prove  to  Mar  Shimon,  the  Patriarch, 
and  to  all  Old  Church  Nestorians  that  we  are  friends,  and 
are  not  teaching  our  people  to  despise  those  in  authority. 
Without  the  friendship  of  the  Patriarch  we  could  do  nothing 
in  the  mountains.  It  seems  a  strange  providence  that 
brought  that  man  here  to  die;  at  first  it  seemed  as  if  it 
were  very  unfortunate,  but  I  think  that  after  all  good  will 
come  of  it. 

These  were  Mrs.  Cochran's  last  letters.  She  had  an 
attack  of  grippe  in  January,  from  which  she  seems 
never  to  have  recovered  her  strength.  All  the  children 
were  sick,  so  that  she  had  no  chance  to  get  the  rest 
she  so  greatly  needed.  In  March  she  was  suddenly 
taken  ill  with  pneumonia.  At  first  it  was  not  regarded 
as  a  serious  attack,  but  complications  set  in,  and  she 
died  March  21st,  1895,  after  only  one  week's  illness. 
The  sister  in  America,  who  has  preserved  the  corre- 
spondence from  Urumia,  writes: — 

That  last  day,  when  she  saw,  by  the  expression  of  those 
about  her,  that  they  thought  her  very  ill,  she  asked  if  they 


192  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

thought  she  would  not  live.  When  they  told  her  that  they 
feared  she  was  dying,  she  dictated  a  note  to  her  mother, 
signing  it  with  her  own  hand.  Then  she  sent  for  the  chil- 
dren, and  said  a  few  words  to  each.  Dr.  Shedd,  who  was 
very  low  at  the  time,  had  himself  carried  over  to  see  her 
once  more.  He  followed  her  three  weeks  later.  All  that 
the  love  of  the  Mission  circle  could  do  for  her  was  done. 
Mrs.  Labaree  and  Mrs.  Coan  nursed  her  most  tenderly. 

We  can  imagine  Dr.  Cochran's  agony  as  he  saw  her  dying 
and  realized  that  he  was  powerless  to  help  her,  and  had  no 
one  with  whom  to  consult.  Even  Dr.  Miller  was  away  in 
Mosul  that  winter. 

It  was  a  sorrowful  group  of  the  Mission  circle  that 
gathered  in  the  parlour,  where  she  had  so  often  made  them 
welcome,  for  the  last  services.  They  sang  some  of  her 
favourite  hymns,  "  Jerusalem  the  Golden,"  and  "  The  Sands 
of  Time  are  Sinking,"  and  Mr.  Coan  said  a  few  words. 
The  college  chapel  was  decorated  with  pussy  willows,  the 
Nestorian  emblem  of  the  resurrection.  Many  of  the  native 
friends  gathered  for  the  services  there,  although  the  day 
was  cold  and  stormy.  There  was  a  wild  storm  of  wind  and 
rain  as  they  rode  up  to  Seir,  such  a  day  as  when,  two  years 
before,  Dr.  Cochran  laid  away  his  mother  to  rest.  All 
through  those  first  days  of  sorrow  Dr.  Cochran  had  to 
receive  many  calls  of  condolence.  His  letters  for  the  months 
following  are  filled  with  a  sacred  sorrow  or  else  are  in 
regard  to  the  children. 

The  whole  community  mourned  with  Dr.  Cochran  in 
his  sorrow.  The  Rev.  Benjamin  W.  Labaree,  Dr. 
Labaree's  oldest  son,  wrote  from  Urumia,  March  22nd, 
1895:— 

We  are  all  very  sad.  Mrs.  Cochran  was  such  a  bright, 
cheery  person,  and  she  had  such  a  very  strong  character. 
Her  family  was  a  model  family  in  every  respect,  and  she 
will  be  missed  terribly.  Our  hearts  ache  for  poor  doctor 
and  the  children.  They  are  all  wonderfully  calm  to-day. 
Clement  and  Lily  are  helping  in  all  the  arrangements,  and 
doctor  is  receiving  many  calls.  The  mourning  is  not  con- 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  193 

fined  to  our  circle.  Dr.  Cochran  has  won  his  way  into  the 
hearts  of  everybody,  Moslem  as  well  as  Christian.  His  sor- 
row is  their  sorrow.  A  Moslem  said  to  me  to-day,  "  Dr. 
Cochran  is  a  friend  to  the  rich  and  a  father  to  the  poor." 
Another  said,  "  Dr.  Cochran  will  be  distressed  to  know  what 
his  duty  will  be,  to  the  people  here,  or  to  his  children," 
referring  to  the  possibility  of  his  having  to  take  his  children 
to  America.  For  the  present,  I  presume,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Coan  will  move  into  the  doctor's  house,  and  Mrs.  Coan  will 
take  charge  of  the  two  families.  What  the  future  will 
bring  we  do  not  know. 

During  this  short  sickness  we  have  been  stopped  in  the 
streets  very  often  by  Moslems  and  Christians,  many  of 
them  entire  strangers,  and  asked  how  Mrs.  Cochran  was. 
There  is  no  one  in  Persia  who  is  so  generally  loved  by  the 
people,  rich  and  poor,  and  who  has  done  so  much  for  them 
as  Dr.  Cochran. 

The  death  of  Mrs.  Cochran  and  of  Dr.  Shedd,  which 
followed  soon  after,  left  him,  in  a  double  sense,  alone. 
Dr.  Shedd  had  been  the  senior  member  of  the  Station 
and  its  leader  in  the  noblest  sense.  He  was  a  man  of 
great  strength  and  weight  of  judgment,  profoundly 
trusted  by  the  Nestorians,  full  of  wisdom  and  justice, 
a  tower  of  reliance  to  all.  At  his  death  Dr.  Cochran 
became  the  senior,  Dr.  Labaree  having  had  to  leave  the 
field  in  1891  and  not  returning  until  1898,  and  many 
of  the  burdens  which  Dr.  Shedd  had  borne  fell  upon 
him,  in  addition  to  his  own.  He  was  never  a  narrow 
specialist.  He  never  considered  the  medical  work  as 
a  professional  work,  to  be  carried  on  by  a  medical  man 
apart  from  the  general  evangelistic  and  educational 
responsibilities  of  the  Mission.  He  studied  and  en- 
tered into  every  part  of  the  work,  and  was  prepared  to 
counsel  about  it,  and  to  form  a  wise  policy  for  it,  and 
upon  Dr.  Shedd's  death  he  was  naturally  looked  to  as 
the  adviser  and  general  leader,  at  the  same  time  that 


194  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

he  had  to  bear  burdens  which  fell  to  him  alone  by 
reason  of  his  medical  ability,  coupled  with  his  personal 
character  and  the  remarkable  influence  which  he  had 
acquired  as  a  moral  force  and  a  teacher  of  righteous- 
ness. Mrs.  Cochran's  death  deprived  him  of  his  great- 
est human  solace  and  sympathy.  She  was  a  woman  of 
great  delicacy  and  refinement  of  nature,  sensitive  and 
sympathetic,  but  calm  and  sensible,  who  understood 
his  problems,  and  fortified  him  in  his  quiet  confidence 
and  strength.  Mrs.  W.  A.  Shedd  wrote  of  her: — 

Mrs.  Cochran's  life  was  not  eventful  in  any  striking  way; 
it  was  spent  mostly  with  and  for  her  husband  and  her 
children,  serving  them  most  devotedly.  She  had  both  high 
culture  and  intellectual  power  to  an  unusual  degree,  and 
also  the  ability  to  form  clear,  independent  opinions.  Her 
influence  on  the  work  was  felt  directly  through  the  women's 
meetings  and  alumnae  associations,  but  more  powerfully 
still  through  her  husband,  whom  she  helped  and  sustained 
to  an  extent  not  understood  by  many,  by  her  home,  by  her 
calm,  wise  counsel,  and  earnest  sympathy.  Others  of  us 
can  also  testify  to  her  helpfulness  in  perplexing  matters, 
personal,  and  connected  with  the  work.  Sincerity,  truth- 
fulness, patience,  and  quiet  devotion  were  marked  traits  of 
her  character. 

Upon  Dr.  Shedd's  death,  instead  of  welcoming  the 
opportunity  to  become  the  head  of  the  Station,  Dr. 
Cochran  at  once  wrote  to  Dr.  Labaree  in  America, 
urging  him  to  come  back  and  take  the  place  of  leader- 
ship : — 

DR.  COCHRAN  TO  DR.  LABAREE,  URUMIA,  April  18th,  1895. — 
Before  this  letter  reaches  you,  you  will  have  heard  of  all 
that  has  happened  to  us.  The  last  four  weeks  have  been 
by  far  the  most  trying  ones  of  our  life.  Indeed,  ever  since 
last  fall  so  much  has  happened  that  has  been  hard.  During 
the  sessions  of  Annual  Meeting,  Sister  Katherine  Mildred 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  195 

died.  Then  we  lost  a  case  in  the  hospital,  Andreas  of  Baz. 
Later  on  Shamasha  Eshai,  the  Patriarch's  brother,  died  in 
the  hospital  of  typhoid  fever.  A  little  later  Pastor  Kozle, 
and  then  another  hospital  case,  and  then  Mrs.  Cochran; 
after  her,  two  more  cases  in  the  hospital,  and  then  Dr.  Shedd. 
So,  too,  I  lost  a  schoolgirl  of  diphtheria.  Dr.  Shedd,  as  you 
know,  has  had  trouble  ever  since  the  day  before  we  left 
Hamadan.  For  at  least  a  month  before  he  died  I  had  but 
little  hope  of  his  recovery,  so  that  his  death  was  not  so 
unexpected,  but  Mrs.  Cochran's  came  suddenly,  like  a  terrible 
storm  out  of  a  clear  sky.  She  was  sick,  as  you  have  heard, 
only  one  full  week.  To  the  last  I  had  the  hope  that  in  some 
way  God  would  surely  raise  her  up  again,  although  I  had  no 
reason  for  hoping  so  from  any  physical  signs,  but  it  seemed 
almost  impossible  that  I  should  be  thus  left  without  my 
wife,  and  our  five  children  without  their  mother.  It  every 
now  and  then  seems  all  but  unendurable,  and  yet  I  can  see 
very  clearly  God's  loving  hand,  even  in  the  midst  of  the 
blow,  and  the  blessings  are  many.  The  memories  of  the  past 
sixteen  and  a  half  years,  the  home,  the  children,  are  rich 
blessings.  It  is  such  a  pleasure  to  think  of  the  many  con- 
versations we  had  during  her  sickness,  of  the  perfect  con- 
fidence and  trust  she  had  that  her  Saviour,  since  He  was 
calling  her,  would  also  care  for  me  and  the  children.  She 
said  she  had  not  the  slightest  anxiety  on  our  behalf;  and 
then  her  words  to  each  of  the  three  older  children  are  a 
precious  memory  and  a  rich  legacy  to  them.  But  the  home 
is  all  the  more  desolate  because  we  have  lost  so  precious 
and  necessary  a  member.  I  did  not  sit  down  to  burden 
you,  however,  with  my  personal  grief.  Each  has  enough 
to  bear  without  sharing  others'  burdens.  It  was  more  of 
the  general  loss  or  the  loss  common  to  all  the  departments 
of  our  work,  and  to  all  the  labourers  that  I  wished  to  write. 
In  Dr.  Shedd's  death  you  can  understand  what  a  blow  our 
work  has  sustained.  The  question  before  us  now  is,  how 
can  we,  in  some  measure  at  least,  remedy  this?  I  think 
you  who  know  the  needs  of  the  work  and  the  men  on  the 
field  will  understand  our  wants.  Our  corps  of  clerical  men 
is  a  strong  one,  but  each  individual  is  more  of  a  specialist 
in  his  department.  Good  and  faithful  work  is  done  and  will 
be  done  in  the  department  under  the  care  of  each  of  our 


196  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

men,  but  what  we  lack,  it  seems  to  me,  is  some  one  who 
would  take  as  nearly  as  possible  the  position  which  Dr. 
Shedd  held, — that  of  a  general  superintendent — with  the 
ability  to  look  out  over  the  entire  field,  to  lay  out  the 
whole  of  the  campaign,  bringing  every  arm  of  the  service 
to  work  in  harmony  with  every  other  branch,  and  uniting 
all  to  the  one  end  in  view,  and  then  keeping  all  the  machinery 
at  work.  Aside  from  this  it  seems,  now  at  least,  since  we 
have  been  used  to  leaning  so  much  on  an  older  man,  that 
we  absolutely  need  such  a  guide  and  superintendent.  This, 
however,  we  cannot  get  unless  you  can  see  your  way  clear 
to  coming  out.  As  a  station,  we  would  rejoice  to  have  you 
do  this,  even  if  you  could  do  so  only  for  two  or  three  years. 
I  am  sure  it  will  pay  the  Board  to  do  this, — to  send  you 
out  so  as  to  get  here  early  in  the  fall,  even  if  you  could 
remain  but  two  years.  .  .  . 

Of  course,  you  know  all  the  circumstances,  and  I  may 
be  entirely  mistaken,  and  I  do  not  mean  to  presume  that 
I  can  advise  you.  One  thing  I  do  feel  sure  would  not  be 
wise,  and  that  is  for  you  to  come  out  without  Mrs.  Labaree ; 
that  would  only  add  to  the  anxiety,  and  throw  an  extra 
burden  on  you  and  Mrs.  Labaree.  You  could  fall  most 
naturally  into  the  press  work,  the  preparation  of  material 
and  oversight,  into  the  Inner  Mission  work,  the  superintend- 
ence of  what  we  have  in  the  Jewish  and  Moslem  departments, 
and  then  with  this  you  could  take  the  lead  in  the  Knushyas, 
and  with  your  experience  and  knowledge  of  the  work  and  its 
needs,  you  could  assume  the  general  direction  in  the  plan- 
ning for  the  work  as  a  whole.  If  you  felt  you  could  stay 
but  two  or  three  years,  we  would  in  the  meantime  be  looking 
for  a  man  to  take  up  the  work  when  you  left. 

We  are  in  a  critical  period  of  the  history  of  our  Mission, 
and  it  will  not  pay  the  Board  to  deal  carelessly  with  the 
work.  We  need  the  very  best  man  America  can  give  us. 
There  is  no  one  too  good  for  this  position  in  America, 
some  opinions  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  We  need  a 
man  who  will  be  looked  up  to  and  felt, — one  who  not  only 
in  a  single  department  will  be  head  and  shoulders  above 
all  whom  he  has  to  deal  with,  but  an  all-around  man  who 
will  be  able  to  command  in  more  than  one  position,  and 
whose  weight  and  character  will  tell  on  the  whole  work. 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  197 

Though  self-contained  and  reserved,  Dr.  Cochran  was 
very  sociable  and  full  of  play  and  home-love,  and  the 
loss  of  his  wife  cut  deep,  and  thickened  the  veil  which 
always  hung  across  his  inner  life.  The  whole  station 
loved  and  admired  him.  Indeed,  the  station  was  a 
family  group  whose  members  were  bound  together  by 
the  ties  of  two  or  three  generations,  but  no  other  love 
could  take  the  place  of  the  gentle  love  and  under- 
standing of  his  wife,  and  all  who  knew  him  were  aware 
of  the  unexpressed  lonesomeness  of  his  heart  as  he 
went  quietly  on  with  his  work. 

He  was  further  saddened  by  the  horrors  which  had 
already  begun  in  Turkey.  The  constant  persecution 
of  the  Armenians  had  burst  out  in  the  terrible  mas- 
sacres which  began  in  1894,  and  were  in  1895  and  1896 
to  fill  all  eastern  Turkey  with  the  smoke  of  pillaged 
villages,  the  wrecks  of  ruined  homes,  the  sobs  of  little 
children,  and  the  desperate  wrath  of  outraged  men  who 
had  appealed  to  the  Christian  Powers  in  vain  to  stop 
the  most  dastardly  crime  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
There  were  no  massacres  of  the  Nestorians  in  Turkey, 
but  threats  and  oppression  filled  them  with  terror,  and 
they  had  reason  to  fear  that  they  were  included  in 
this  Turkish  policy  of  annihilation  of  the.  Christian 
subjects.  All  this  shame  and  cruelty  and  suffering 
went  far  to  age  one  who  saw  and  knew  it  all,  who  did 
what  he  could  to  give  relief,  and  whose  heart  consumed 
itself  in  anguish  at  the  careless  indifference  of  Christen- 
dom to  the  pillage  and  massacre  which  were  making 
eastern  Turkey  a  hell. 

In  the  summer  of  1895  he  visited  the  Mountain  Nes- 
torians. Of  this  tour  he  reported : — 

JUNE  27th. — Mr.  Labaree,  Kasha  Graham,  and  I  started 
off  for  a  tour  in  our  mountain  field.  We  had  planned  going 


198  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

directly  to  Kochanis  to  pay  a  visit  of  condolence  to  the 
Patriarch,  and  then  go  to  the  districts  of  Diz,  Jelu,  Baz,  and 
Ishtazin.  Our  road  led  us  through  the  districts  of  Tergawar 
and  the  valley  of  Mar-Beshu.  In  the  latter  we  spent  two 
days, — one  a  Sabbath  with  large  audiences  at  services.  This 
village  is  the  first  one  in  our  field  in  Turkey,  and  is  inter- 
esting in  having  a  church  said  to  be  1,500  years  old.  There 
are  three  Nestorian  villages  in  this  pretty  valley  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  Nazlu  River,  but  the  majority  of  the 
people  barely  exist.  We  have  a  preacher  here  always,  and 
two  or  three  schools,  if  the  government  does  not  close  them. 
The  Kurds  from  our  side  of  the  border,  with  others,  are 
constantly  robbing  these  people. 

Another  day  brings  us  to  the  plain  of  Gawar  with  its 
nineteen  Christian  villages,  and  half  as  many  Kurdish — 
shut  in  on  the  west  by  the  high  range  of  Jelu,  whose  highest 
peaks  tower  up  fifteen  to  seventeen  thousand  feet.  On  the 
other  three  sides,  the  plain  is  also  hemmed  in  by  mountains. 
The  soil  is  rich  and  fertile,  but  now  for  five  years  the  locusts 
and  caterpillars,  in  addition  to  the  ravages  of  the  Kurds 
and  the  relentless  tax  collector,  have  reduced  an  already 
poverty-stricken  people  to  a  most  deplorable  condition.  I 
know  of  no  large  number  of  Nestorians  reduced  to  such 
destitution  as  are  these.  It  is  perhaps  safe  to  say  that 
every  one  is  in  debt,  unless  it  be  the  beggar  who  exists  by 
picking  up  his  bread  from  door  to  door.  All  property  is 
mortgaged,  and  those  who  borrow  must  do  so  at  the  rate  of 
100  per  cent,  or  150  per  cent,  interest.  The  spiritual  con- 
dition of  the  majority  of  these  people  is  about  as  low  as  the 
physical, — perhaps  we  can  hardly  look  for  it  to  be  otherwise. 
Last  winter  we  had  ten  schools  in  these  villages,  with  regular 
preaching  services  in  six  of  them.  Instead  of  spending  only 
one  day,  as  we  intended  doing,  the  authorities  forbade  our 
proceeding  until  they  should  communicate  with  the  Vali 
of  Van.  The  detention  was  exceedingly  annoying,  as  our 
time  was  limited,  but  we  did  not  get  permission  to  go  on 
until  the  tenth  day  after  our  arrival.  Even  then  we  had 
reason  to  believe  that  the  local  authorities,  who  are  friendly, 
gave  the  permission  without  waiting  for  the  reply  from 
Van.  We  passed  our  time  in  acquainting  ourselves  more 
thoroughly  with  the  condition  and  needs  of  this  portion 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  199 

of  our  field,  in  having  several  conferences  with  our  helpers, 
in  receiving  and  making  calls,  and  in  seeing  the  sick — and 
in  visiting  several  of  the  villages.  Leaving  Gawar,  we  spent 
a  night  in  the  village  of  Deriss,  about  halfway  to  Kochanis. 
Deriss  and  five  other  Nestorian  villages  are  picturesquely 
situated  on  the  northern  slope  of  the  Zab  Valley.  This 
slope  is  well  watered  and  wooded,  and  the  terraced  fields  dot 
nearly  all  the  steep  surface  from  the  top  of  the  range  to 
the  Zab,  4,000  feet  below.  We  had  nearly  all  the  men  of 
the  place  to  the  evening  and  morning  meetings,  and  we  were 
begged  to  send  them  a  teacher,  as  we  had  done  some  years. 
They  promised  to  get  pupils  from  the  two  nearest  villages 
and  keep  them  during  the  winter,  so  that  they,  too,  could 
reap  the  benefit  of  the  school.  Nine  hours  walking  and 
riding  down  the  very  steep  mountainside,  across  the  Zab 
on  a  natural  bridge,  over  immense  rocks  which  have  fallen 
and  bridged  the  great  river — down  along  the  Zab,  and  up 
another  valley  with  its  difficult  paths,  and  across  snow  drifts, 
brought  down  by  the  avalanche,  brought  us  to  Kochanis. 
Here  we  remained  four  days,  having  two  interviews  daily 
with  Mar  Shimon,  usually  one  in  his  room,  and  one  in 
our  tent.  Kochanis  is  a  good  place  to  meet  representatives 
of  all  the  Nestorian  tribes,  for  it  is  here  that  they  must 
come  to  rent  the  valuable  lands  belonging  to  the  many 
churches,  to  secure  appointments  as  Maliks  and  Raises, 
to  be  ordained  priests  and  deacons,  and  to  get  their  blood 
feuds  and  other  quarrels  settled.  We  had  also  sent  for 
some  of  our  preachers  from  the  districts  beyond,  since  our 
detention  in  Gawar  would  make  it  impossible  to  visit  them, 
and  from  them  we  had  full  reports.  Baz,  Jelu,  and 
Ishtazin,  with  all  their  villages  (24),  are  as  open  to  our 
preachers  and  teachers  as  are  the  villages  of  Urumia.  The 
schools  that  we  had  in  these  villages  were  well  attended, 
and  on  the  Sabbaths  good  congregations  attended  the  serv- 
ices, but  there  has  been  but  very  little  advance  made  in  the 
number  of  communicants. 

The  needs  of  the  field  are,  first,  government  permission 
for  us  and  our  preachers  and  teachers  to  work  in  it  without 
restriction;  second,  this  being  obtained,  to  have  more  time 
spent  by  one  of  our  missionaries  on  the  field;  third,  two  or 
three  more  faithful  native  helpers.  With  the  doors  as 


200  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

open  to  us  as  they  are,  no  trouble  or  means  should  be  spared 
to  secure  these  wants. 

We  should  have  a  definite  policy,  and  persevere  in  it 
untiringly,  both  from  TJrumia  and  Mosul.  In  touring,  and 
in  general  evangelistic  work,  we  should  not  be  confined  too 
closely  to  the  line  which  divides  our  fields.  Every  year,  at 
least,  the  missionaries  from  the  two  stations  should  meet  in 
conference,  preferably  on  the  field.  There  are  many  signs 
of  encouragement,  though  there  be  such  obstacles  in  our 
way.  Let  us  be  ready  to  enter  every  open  door,  and  let  us 
make  no  misstep. 

In  August  he  went  to  Tabriz  on  a  little  trip  with 
his  two  oldest  children,  where  he  was  kept  busy  calling 
on  his  many  friends,  and  where,  at  the  invitation  of  the 
late  Governor  of  Urumia  he  went  out  to  General  Wag- 
ner's camp  to  see  the  Vali  Ahd  review  the  troops.  He 
was  back  in  Urumia  in  September,  and  for  the  next 
ten  months  was  at  his  work  without  intermission  or 
relief.  The  disturbances  in  Turkey  cut  down  the  num- 
ber of  his  hospital  patients  from  the  mountains,  as 
travel  was  almost  impossible.  He  had  his  hands  full, 
however,  and  the  pressure  of  his  work  in  reconciling 
enemies  and  adjusting  difficulties  and  relieving  the 
oppressed  was  greater  than  ever.  In  his  report  for 
the  year  ending  October  1st,  1896,  he  says : — 

There  were,  of  course,  fewer  cases  of  special  interest  in 
the  hospital  than  usual  this  year.  One  Kurdish  chief  from 
Turkey  after  going  back  did  much  to  protect  the  Christians, 
both  Armenian  and  Syrian,  from  being  plundered  and  killed 
in  his  district.  His  gratitude  for  what  was  done  for  him 
here,  and  his  praise  of  the  work  which  Christians  from  a 
far  land  were  enabling  us  to  do  here,  were  so  often  expressed 
that  his  friends  would  accuse  him  of  having  become  a 
Christian.  He  and  his  brother  are  now  helping  the  Chris- 
tians to  escape  across  the  border  into  Persia. 

Gillee  was  a  mountain  Nestorian  boy  of  twelve.    While 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  201 

on  a  trip  in  the  mountains,  his  widowed  mother  brought 
him  a  long  and  perilous  three  days'  journey  to  where  she 
had  heard  we  were  stopping.  The  boy  was  suffering  acute 
pain  all  the  time.  He  was  thinly  clad,  and  being  on  foot, 
they  could  not,  of  course,  take  any  bedding  along.  In 
crossing  a  high  range  of  mountains,  they  had  to  pass  one 
night  in  the  shelter  of  some  rocks  beside  a  bank  of  eternal 
snows.  They  had  to  take  circuitous  paths  to  avoid  meeting 
with  enemies  of  their  tribe.  They  were  in  constant  danger 
of  being  robbed,  but  the  mother's  joy  knew  no  bounds  when 
she  learned  that  she  had  overtaken  us  in  time  to  go  across 
the  still  more  dangerous  border  with  us,  and  that  her  son 
could  hope  to  be  cured.  The  boy  is  now  well  and  working 
at  a  trade. 

Rassul  was  a  young  Moslem  from  a  little  Tillage  near  Sain 
Kullah.  Two  years  ago  while  passing  through  that  village, 
a  man  came  running  out,  leading  a  boy  ten  years  old. 
Before  I  knew  what  they  were  about  both  were  on  their 
knees  and  hands,  kissing  the  earth  over  which  my  horse 
had  trodden.  As  they  arose,  I  recognized  the  boy  as  one 
upon  whom  I  had  operated  a  few  years  before.  The  father 
told  me  that  the  boy's  mother  had  gone  off  with  another 
man  who  could  support  her  better  than  he  could,  and  that 
he  had  married  another  wife  who  had,  however,  brought 
with  her  an  invalid  son  who  was  only  a  burden  to  him, 
and  whom  I  must  cure.  Last  winter  the  man  appeared 
one  day  with  his  step-son,  whom  he  left  in  the  hospital,  and 
returned  to  his  distant  home.  When  he  left  he  confidentially 
remarked  that  since  the  boy  was  not  likely  to  be  of  much 
use  if  he  lived,  he  would  find  him  dead  and  buried  when 
next  he  came.  He  also  remarked  that  in  losing  his  step-son 
he  was  likely  to  lose  his  second  wife  as  well,  for  if  she 
did  not  have  him  to  care  for,  she  could  get  a  wealthier  man 
to  marry  her.  But  "  I  don't  care,"  he  added,  "  she  has  a 
bad  tongue,  and  often  reviles  me,  and  once  she  beat  me. 
Let  her  go  if  she  likes."  The  boy  Rassul  was  very  seriously 
sick  and  did  die  in  a  couple  of  weeks,  and  we  got  some  of 
our  Moslem  neighbours  to  bury  him;  but  before  he  became 
unconscious,  he  heard  a  good  deal  about  One  whose  name 
even,  he  declared,  he  had  not  heard  before.  The  last  day 
that  he  was  able  to  speak  he  said,  "  I  am  glad  to  die 


202      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

here.  It  is  a  beautiful  place,  and  I  have  heard  wonderful 
things.'* 

There  has  been  a  medical  class,  as  usual,  consisting 
for  the  past  year  of  five  Nestorians  who  have  now  completed 
half  of  their  course.  This  fall  we  will  have,  in  addition, 
a  Moslem.  I  am  inclined  to  receive  more  promising  Moslem 
students  in  the  future  than  has  been  done  in  the  past. 

Diwan  Work.  There  have  been  the  usual  calls  for  such 
help  as  I  could  render  in  attempting  to  bring  to  compara- 
tively just  issues  cases  between  our  people  and  the  authori- 
ties. This,  as  all  know,  is  one  of  the  most  trying  and  oft- 
times  hopeless  of  the  varied  tasks  which  we  are  called  upon 
to  perform.  Trying  and  hopeless  because,  on  the  one  hand, 
we  must  witness  the  grossest  injustice  done  to  our  people 
without  much  chance  of  a  remedy,  and  because  the  govern- 
ment ignores  so  utterly  -any  attempt  to  do  justice  unless  it 
is  to  its  pecuniary  advantage  to  do  so.  But  the  very  fact 
that  these  difficulties  exist  makes  it  imperative  that  we  show 
sympathy  at  least  with  our  oppressed  brethren,  and  when 
there  is  some  hope  of  being  able  to  help  more  or  less,  it 
seems  equally  imperative  that  aid  be  rendered.  Among 
the  different  classes  of  cases  that  call  for  such  assistance 
none  are  more  trying  and  unjust  than  those  of  "  Jadid 
ul  Islam,"  or  suits  arising  from  converts  to  Islam  from 
among  the  Christians.  The  ecclesiastical  law  which  in  the 
past  few  years,  in  this  as  well  as  in  other  parts  of  the 
country,  is  stronger  than  the  civil  law,  prescribes  that 
converts  to  Islam  from  the  Christian  faith  shall  inherit 
all  the  property  of  the  seven  nearest  relatives  of  the  new 
convert.  Every  year  there  are  eight  or  ten  such  cases  in 
the  converts  among  our  people,  mostly  old  cases  that  are 
trumped  up  every  time  that  a  new  governor  is  appointed. 
Let  me  give  a  brief  description  of  one  of  these  cases  to 
illustrate  to  those  not  familiar  with  Persian  lawsuits  the 
course  such  a  case  pursues. 

Kasha  Shimon,  one  of  our  eldest  and  best  pastors,  died 
leaving  a  wife  but  no  children.  He  had  adopted  a  nephew, 
however,  and  had  also  two  married  sisters,  one  of  whom  has 
a  daughter  who  has  become  a  Moslem.  Some  time  before 
his  death  the  Kasha  had  made  all  his  property  over  to  his 
wife  and  nephew,  and  had  made  their  title  to  this  property 


«  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  203 

as  secure  as  possible  in  this  country.  His  will  was  made 
out  by  the  chief  mujtahid,  and  endorsed  by  many  others. 
The  deed  bore  the  seals  of  all  the  chief  Moslem  ecclesiastics 
of  the  place.  He  thought  he  had  secured  his  heirs  against 
the  niece  who  had  become  a  Moslem  by  having  obtained 
from  her  mother  a  document,  properly  made  out  and  sealed 
by  Mohammedan  ecclesiastics,  stating  that  she  had  no  inter- 
est whatever  in  her  brother's  property.  Soon  after  Kasha 
Shimon's  death,  however,  this  convert  to  Islam  entered 
suit  against  his  wife  and  nephew.  The  civil  authorities, 
after  examining  the  claims  of  this  woman  and  the  papers 
of  the  defendants,  dismissed  the  case,  taking  a  fee  equiva- 
lent to  a  tenth  of  the  value  of  the  estate,  on  the  ground 
that  the  property  was  now  secured  to  the  rightful  heirs. 
Large  fees  were  extorted  as  well  by  the  retainers  of  the 
Governor  and  Sarparast.  The  convert  to  Islam  thus  baffled, 
made  appeal  to  a  mujtahid  here,  who  gave  her  an  order 
on  the  civil  authorities  showing  that  every  shahie  that  the 
Kasha  left  should,  by  the  holy  law  of  Jadid  ul  Islam,  come 
to  her.  Whereupon  the  Kasha's  nephew  was  again  arrested 
and  cast  into  prison.  It  was  in  the  winter,  and  the  room  in 
which  this  young  man  had  to  sit  with  his  feet  in  stocks 
was  not  heated,  nor  were  there  any  windows  to  shut  out 
the  cold  which  entered  through  the  large  openings  in  the  wall. 
After  a  day  or  two,  on  payment  of  a  good  sum  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, he  was  released,  but  had  to  pay  to  the  Governor's 
servant  a  certain  fee  daily,  until  the  case  should  again 
be  dismissed. 

It  was  the  defendants'  turn  now  to  obtain  help  from 
the  ecclesiastics  who,  for  a  compensation,  were  made  to 
read  the  law  in  a  way  that  should  be  favourable  to  them, 
on  the  ground  that  the  Moslem's  mother  was  still  living,  and 
that  she  had  sold  out  all  her  interest,  and  in  consequence 
the  daughter  could  not  claim  anything.  For  over  two  months 
the  different  ecclesiastics  in  the  city  vied  with  each  other 
in  issuing  orders  annulling  each  others'  decisions.  Both 
plaintiff  and  defendant  spent  large  sums  of  money  on  these 
orders,  and  so  long  as  the  doctors  of  the  law  could  make 
it  profitable  to  disagree,  the  civil  authorities  were  content 
to  continue  to  levy  fees  on  the  defendant. 

The  case  finally  dropped  out  of  the  courts,  only  to  be 


204  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

renewed  when  a  new  Governor  came.  This  last  spring  the 
Kasha's  nephew  and  wife  were  again  arrested,  and  the  same 
process  was  renewed.  The  property  now  consists  of  just 
half  what  it  did  when  the  Kasha  died,  and  the  heirs  fully 
believe  the  niece  will  resume  proceedings  against  them  as 
soon  as  the  next  Governor  arrives.  There  is  no  end  to  these 
law-suits.  This  is  because  of  the  law  in  Persia  in  which 
the  Kings  of  Persia  take  great  pride,  namely:  that  no 
petitioner  shall  be  turned  away  from  the  courts  without 
an  investigation  of  his  case, — although  it  is  very  often  true 
in  these  old  law-suits  that  the  plaintiff  gets  nothing  for 
his  trouble  but  the  satisfaction  that  the  defendant  is  made 
to  pay  dearly. 

After  Mrs.  Cochran's  death  one  question  which  pressed 
upon  him  as  it  presses  upon  all  missionary  parents,  but 
especially  those  situated  as  Dr.  Cochran  was,  was  the 
question  of  the  children.  For  years  he  and  the  younger 
children  found  a  home  with  Mrs.  Coan,  who  was  as  a 
mother  to  the  little  ones.  The  two  oldest  children, 
however,  were  ready  to  go  on  with  their  advanced  edu- 
cation, and  it  was  a  problem  to  Dr.  Cochran  to  know 
what  his  duty  was.  His  lifelong  friend,  who  was  as 
his  brother,  Mr.  S.  M.  Clement  of  Buffalo,  suggested 
his  coming  to  America  to  place  the  older  children  in 
school,  and  offered  to  meet  all  the  expenses.  He  was  a 
man  of  the  keenest  and  most  sensitive  conscientious- 
ness, however,  and  he  wrote  home: — 

I  have  written  Mr.  Clement  that  it  hardly  seemed  best, 
for  my  regular  furlough  comes  in  the  summer  of  1898,  and 
I  felt  that  I  would  hardly  wish  to  go  then  and  again  in 
two  years.  I  don't  think  the  churches  like  to  see  their 
missionaries  home  too  often,  and  to  take  this  five  or  six 
months  instead  of  a  year  later  would  perhaps  not  be  best 
because  I  could  not  get  time  to  look  up  in  the  line  of  my 
profession. 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  205 

His  associates  urged  his  need  of  some  change  and 
rest,  however,  and  he  consented  to  leave  for  three 
months,  taking  Clement  and  Lillie  for  a  visit  to  his 
sister,  then  in  Russia,  and  then  going  on  with  them 
to  Stockholm  and  Copenhagen  and  London,  where  he 
started  them  off  alone  for  America,  and  returned  to 
Persia  with  one  of  the  secretaries  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions  who  was  to  visit  the  field. 
While  he  was  waiting  in  London,  after  the  departure 
of  the  children,  he  was  invited  by  Archbishop  Benson  to 
visit  him,  Dr.  Cochran's  services  to  the  Archbishop's 
Mission  in  Urumia  having  been  very  useful.  He  spent 
a  night  at  the  Archbishop's  home  at  Addington  Park, 
borrowing  some  evening  clothes  for  the  occasion  from 
a  newspaper  man  whom  he  knew.  He  met  Miss  Tait, 
daughter  of  the  late  Archbishop,  who  was  greatly  in- 
terested in  the  Nestorians,  and  who  sought  his  un- 
rivalled knowledge  of  the  conditions  in  Persia  and 
eastern  Turkey.  Before  going  to  bed  at  night  he  wrote 
in  his  room  at  the  Archbishop's  a  letter  describing  his 
visit,  to  the  children  whom  he  had  just  sent  home. 
"  The  purpose  of  the  visit,"  he  wrote,  "  was  to  get  my 
opinion  on  the  question  of  the  murder  of  Mar  Gabriel 
and  his  party,1  and  to  talk  over  the  whole  wretched 


the  morning  of  June  27th,  1896,  the  greatest  excitement  pre- 
vailed in  the  native  Christian  community  of  Urumia.  Mar  Goriel 
or  Gabriel,  the  Nestorian  Bishop  of  the  city,  had  incurred  the  deep 
anger  of  the  Saparast  and  had  fled  to  Mawana,  near  the  Turkish 
border,  for  fear  of  being  murdered.  Prom  there  he  and  a  large 
party  started  up  to  see  the  Mutran  or  Patriarch.  It  was  supposed 
that  he  went  up  to  ask  the  Mutran  to  shut  out  the  Englishmen  from 
the  Nestorian  churches  and  to  drive  them  away,  but  this  may  have 
been  simply  the  talk  of  the  people  in  the  wild  agitation  of  the  day. 
After  visiting  the  Mutran  he  became  the  guest  of  Sheikh  Sadik,  son 
of  the  great  Sheikh  Obeidullah.  After  the  party  had  eaten  at  the 
Sheikh's  house  the  story  goes  that  they  were  advised  to  return  to 
Urumia,  but  were  suddenly  seized  and  locked  up  in  some  outbuild- 


206  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

state  of  affairs  along  our  border.  The  Archbishop 
wishes  me  to  see  Lord  Anderson,  the  chief  man  at  the 
Foreign  Office  after  Lord  Salisbury.  I  saw  Mr.  Roose- 
velt at  our  Embassy,  too,  this  morning  in  regard  to 
the  same." 

Dr.  Cochran  was  back  in  Urumia  in  September,  1896, 
and  beside  doing  his  varied  work,  he  was  thinking,  as 
ever,  on  the  general  problems  of  the  enterprise.  In 
January,  1897,  he  wrote  to  the  Board,  at  the  request 
of  the  station,  giving  the  substance  of  a  paper  he  had 
read  at  a  Station  Meeting  on  the  question,  "  Are  we, 
as  a  Station,  doing  all  that  we  can  and  should  to  reach 
the  Nestorian  people  in  Persia  and  Turkey  ?  " 

In  the  villages  about  Urumia  there  were  at  this  time 
a  great  many  people  from  the  mountains,  due  to 
outrages  by  the  Kurds  upon  the  Mountain  Nes- 
torians.  Some  thousands  of  refugees  had  poured  down 
from  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan,  and  crowded  into 
the  homes  of  the  Urumia  Nestorians,  already  hard 
pressed  and  needy.  These  added  calls  upon  the  mis- 
sionaries came  just  at  a  time  when  diminished  gifts 
at  home  and  accumulated  deficits  compelled  the  Board 
to  reduce  its  appropriations  and  resort  to  heroic  meas- 
ures to  make  ends  meet.  Special  relief  funds  from 
England,  of  which  Dr.  Cochran  took  charge,  and  for 

ing  of  the  property.  The  next  day  they  were  taken  by  Kurds  to  the 
border  of  Turkey  and  Persia — the  Sheikh  living  on  Turkish  terri- 
tory. Here  they  were  tied  together  and  brutally  murdered  and  their 
bodies  dragged  over  on  to  Persian  territory.  All  were  stripped 
naked  and  some  terribly  mutilated.  Five  ecclesiastics  were  among 
the  number,  one  of  them  being  a  nephew  of  the  Bishop.  Twelve 
or  fourteen  bodies  were  found  some  days  later  by  people  passing  by 
and  were  brought  down  to  Urumia  Plain  for  burial. 

Mar  Goriel  was  a  notoriously  wicked  man,  and  the  nephew,  who 
was  killed  with  him,  would  probably  have  been  his  successor.  By 
the  double  murder  the  Bishopric  of  the  City  River  District  was  left 
vacant. 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  207 

which  he  accounted  with  painstaking  care,  made  ex- 
tensive relief  possible.  But  the  whole  situation  of  the 
Mission  was  radically  altered,  and  its  policy  influenced 
in  every  department  by  the  coming  of  a  Mission  from 
the  Greek  Church  which  stampeded  the  Nestorians  so 
that  practically  the  whole  constituency  of  the  Anglican 
Mission  and  many  Roman  Catholics  went  over  to  the 
Greek  Church,  and  only  the  evangelical  element  con- 
nected with  the  Presbyterian  Mission  stood  firm.  The 
hopes  of  political  protection  from  Russia  soon  died 
away,  and  the  nation  felt  great  shame  at  its  apostacy, 
but  the  Anglican  and  Roman  Missions  have  not  recov- 
ered from  the  blow.  The  Evangelical  Church  has  suf- 
fered less  from  it,  and  is  yearly  winning  over  new  ac- 
cessions, but  for  a  little  time  it  looked  as  though  even 
the  Evangelical  body  might  in  part  be  swept  with  the 
avalanche  into  the  Greek  Church.  Dr.  Cochran's  let- 
ters and  reports  cover  all  these  matters: — 

MARCH  18th,  1897. — I  wish  I  could  also  adequately  de- 
scribe the  gratitude  of  the  multitudes  that  have  received 
this  help  sent  by  you.  As  a  Mission,  too,  we  desire  to 
express  our  most  sincere  thanks  for  this  response  to  our 
appeals.  It  is  hard  enough  to  witness  the  distress  of  these 
refugees.  It  would  be  unbearable  did  we  not  have  the  means 
to  relieve  in  some  measure  at  least,  their  sufferings. 

Over  8,000  persons  have  shared  in  the  benefits  of  your 
gifts;  for  the  most  part  they  are  Nestorians,  not  more  than 
two  hundred  Armenians  having  come  to  Urumia.  Most 
made  their  escape  into  Persia  at  the  risk  of  being  arrested 
and  punished  and  turned  back ;  many  at  tbe  risk  of  their  lives. 
Tbey  came  over  penniless,  shabbily  dressed,  some  even  bare- 
footed, over  the  rocky,  snowy  mountains.  They  tell  many 
thrilling  tales  of  their  hardships  and  dangers.  Many  were 
frostbitten,  so  that  fingers  and  toes  had  to  be  amputated — 
many  contracted  serious  illness — mothers  gave  premature 
birth  to  their  infants,  and  were  left,  on  the  mountains, 
to  be  buried  by  the  driving  snows. 


208  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Their  present  condition:  Up  to  the  present,  the  help 
rendered  has  been  sufficient  to  keep  these  people  from  starv- 
ing, and  has  supplied  many  with  some  clothing  and  bedding, 
and  yet  the  suffering  from  want  of  sufficient  food  and  cloth- 
ing has  been  very  great.  In  some  of  the  villages  where  no 
help  whatever  can  be  obtained  in  addition  to  that  which 
we  give,  the  refugees  are  showing  the  signs  of  starvation. 
In  some  places  they  are  eating  the  roots  of  thistles.  Prob- 
ably over  half  do  not  get  a  full  meal  once  a  day,  while 
many  pass  many  a  mealtime  without  a  morsel.  For  the 
most  part,  these  wretched  people  occupy  the  stables  with 
the  cattle,  and  consider  themselves  fortunate  if  there  is  a 
large  number  of  the  latter  to  make  the  place  warmer.  They 
sit  and  lie  on  the  wet  earth  floor,  with  only  their  scanty 
clothing,  or  with  a  carpet,  or  matting,  or  quilt  which  we 
have  supplied  them  with.  The  stables  are  low  mud  buildings, 
with  one  or  two  small  holes  in  the  roof  or  walls,  to  admit 
a  little  air  and  light.  Packed  so  closely  as  they  are,  you 
will  not  wonder  that  they  are  afflicted,  as  well,  with  the  itch 
and  many  other  diseases,  in  many  of  the  villages.  Nearly 
everywhere  special  efforts  are  made  to  give  these  needy 
people  some  spiritual  comfort  as  well. 

JULY  17th,  1897. — There  is  something  over  $300  in  the 
cut  of  our  appropriations  not  yet  provided  for,  and  where 
we  have  shut  up  the  departments  and  the  schools,  it  still 
seems  as  if  it  cannot  and  must  not  be.  Perhaps  one  of 
the  most  difficult  institutions  to  close  is  the  hospital.  People 
will  get  sick  and  will  require  hospital  treatment;  many  will 
come  from  a  long  distance,  and  cannot  be  refused  help  of 
some  kind;  many,  if  not  all,  consequently,  are  entirely  de- 
pendent upon  us.  For  Dr.  Miller  and  me  to  be  here  and  the 
buildings  standing,  and  everything  to  all  outward  appearance 
in  readiness  for  the  treatment  of  patients,  makes  it  no  easy 
task  to  prove  that  we  are  unable  to  receive  the  patients. 
The  last  few  days  there  have  been  several  cases  which  will 
show  the  difficulty  involved.  A  man  has  been  travelling 
one  month,  and  has  come  all  the  way  from  Jezirah  on  the 
Tigris.  He  has  spent  everything  he  had,  and  is  almost 
naked.  He  is  in  need  of  an  operation  and  a  course  of  treat- 
ment. Another  man  was  struck  in  the  leg,  fracturing  both 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  209 

bones;  the  native  bone-setters  have  done  their  best,  and  yet 
it  has  resulted  in  a  gangrenous  foot  and  a  foul  wound  teem- 
ing with  worms.  That  man  will  soon  be  buried  unless  we 
take  him  into  the  hospital  and  amputate  his  leg.  A  few 
days  ago  five  Armenians  made  their  way  here  from  Van, 
with  a  letter  from  the  missionaries  saying  that  these  poor 
patients  had  nothing  for  their  road  expenses  nor  for  their 
support  when  they  got  to  Urumia.  We  have  given  these  a 
room  in  the  hospital,  and  have  operated  on  them,  and  can 
fortunately  charge  their  expenses  to  the  Relief  Funds,  but 
not  so  with  the  other  cases  mentioned.  Dr.  Isaac,  our  native 
assistant,  has  resigned  in  order  that  his  salary  may  be  used 
in  receiving  patients.  I  have  accepted  all  professional  calls 
from  a  distance  in  order  to  increase  the  receipts  of  the 
Medical  Department. 

Of  the  coming  of  the  Russian  priests  you  are  already 
aware.  Of  the  result  of  their  mission  so  far,  I  can  add 
something  for  your  information.  They  have  so  far  visited 
ten  villages  on  the  lower  Nazlu  River.  In  all  of  these 
places,  they  have  called  the  people  together,  and  have  in- 
vited them  to  enroll  themselves  as  candidates  for  member- 
ship in  the  Greek  Church.  They  inform  the  people  that  they 
have  been  sent  in  response  to  numerous  invitations  from 
the  Nestorians  who  are  desirous  of  joining  their  Church. 
They  then  read  to  them  the  Confession  of  their  Faith,  and 
tell  all  those  who  desire  to  do  so,  freely  and  of  their  own 
will,  to  give  them  their  names.  If  this  were  all  they  would 
do  little  harm  and  would  get  but  few  followers,  but  on  the 
one  hand  there  is  an  inborn  conviction  on  the  part  of  the 
Christians  here  that  political  salvation  is  to  come  to  them 
at  the  hands  of  the  Russians,  and  that  it  is  now  at  hand, 
and  on  the  other,  the  Nestorians  who  are  with  them,  the 
bishop  and  others,  use  all  the  influence  at  their  command 
to  secure  the  signatures  of  all  the  people.  They  promise 
the  most  delightful  conditions  of  citizenship  to  those  who 
give  their  names,  absolute  freedom  from  all  oppression  and 
from  all  fear,  while  at  the  same  time  they  threaten  with 
all  manner  of  evils  those  who  do  not  come  over  to  the 
Russian  side.  In  all  of  these  villages  some  of  our  people, 
church  members,  have  been  won  over.  In  Ada,  where  we  had 
the  largest  church,  they  stayed  a  week,  waging  a  very  de- 


210  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

termined  battle,  and  finally  conquering  about  half  of  our 
communicants.  I  was  there  last  Sabbath,  when  our  pastor 
told  me  that  those  who  had  given  their  names  were  closely 
watched  and  openly  threatened  should  they  dare  to  attend 
our  services  again,  but  those  who  had  withstood  seemed  very 
happy  in  it,  and  were  very  warm  and  constant  in  prayer. 
One  of  our  church  members,  a  woman,  had  been  beaten 
every  day  by  her  husband  for  the  past  three  weeks,  in  order 
to  secure  her  promise  to  join  the  Russians,  but  she  had 
withstood  all  the  pressure  brought  upon  her  by  her  husband 
and  others.  In  two  other  villages  more  than  half  have  left 
us.  Just  how  all  this  is  to  end  is  the  vital  question.  No 
one  can  foretell  positively,  because  no  one  knows  what 
attitude  the  Russian  government  is  going  to  take  towards 
this  country.  Many  have  gone  over  because  they  honestly 
believe  that  by  so  doing  they  will  be  the  means  of  getting 
the  Russians  to  occupy  this  part  of  Persia,  while  if  they 
refuse  to  join  the  Russian  Church  they  will  prevent  them 
from  so  doing.  We  see  no  indications  of  the  Russians  de- 
siring to  occupy  Azerbaijan,  and  we  do  not  see  any  hope 
that  those  who  join  their  church  will  be  any  the  better  off 
for  it,  so  far  as  their  relations  to  this  government  and  some 
of  its  oppressions  are  concerned.  Should  there  not  appear 
any  remarkable  help  in  a  political  way  for  these  people, 
many  would  not  only  forsake  them,  but  many  would  fall 
into  the  hands  of  their  Moslem  neighbours  whom  they  have 
greatly  provoked  by  making  so  much  of  the  coming  of  the 
Russians.  There  is  a  very  strong  movement  on  foot  against 
the  Russians.  It  is  headed  by  the  land  owners,  who  under- 
stand that  their  relations  to  their  subjects  will  be  very 
different  if  there  is  considerable  Russian  influence  brought 
to  bear  upon  them.  The  Moslem  ecclesiastics  have  joined 
the  attack  upon  them,  because  everything  of  this  sort  tends 
to  make  the  Christian  influence  the  stronger  and  theirs  the 
weaker,  and  the  masses  are  opposed  to  it,  because  they  are 
jealous  of  a  Christian  power  and  ardent  in  behalf  of  the 
power  of  Islam.  At  the  same  time,  there  are  not  a  few 
Moslems  of  influence  who  are  so  disgusted  vith  the  weak 
and  corrupt  government  which  exists  that  they  would  very 
willingly  see  the  change.  To  the  cause  of  self-support  this 
Russian  Mission  would  seem  to  have  dealt  a  heavy  blow. 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  211 

With  the  members  of  our  various  churches  diminished  in 
numbers,  with  the  congregations  largely  lessened,  we  cannot 
hope  to  get  as  much  as  we  have  been  doing.  Our  pastors, 
who  are  having  a  very  hard  time  to  get  along  with  their 
whole  salary,  will  find  it  impossible  to  live  on  the  reduced 
income.  To  withdraw  our  pastors  from  some  of  the  villages 
and  have  a  fewer  number  do  the  work  of  preaching  to  the 
diminished  congregations  is  not  as  yet  the  wise  thing  to 
do,  till  we  shall  know  what  is  actually  to  be  the  outcome. 
The  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Anglican  adherents  have  all 
left  to  the  last  man  where  the  Russians  have  visited.  It  is 
our  aim  to  be  out  among  the  people  as  much  as  possible 
and  to  continue  to  do  our  duty  along  the  lines  that  are 
open  to  us,  believing  that  at  least  this  new  Mission  will 
have  the  effect  of  sifting  and  purifying  our  Church. 

SEIR,  August  9th,  1897. — Yesterday  a  letter  came  from 
the  Board  suggesting  a  plan  to  have  the  Board's  debts 
paid  off  as  a  first  step  to  bringing  the  treasury  to  a  con- 
dition to  meet  its  duties  and  calls.  They  propose  to  begin 
with  all  the  members  of  the  Board,  its  salaried  and  non- 
salaried  officers,  and  ask  at  the  same  time  that  all  its  mis- 
sionaries join  in  giving  what  they  can  for  this  purpose, 
making  this  the  first  object  to  be  helped,  putting  it  ahead 
of  any  help  which  individuals  plan  to  give,  to  keep  up  their 
departments  or  to  help  in  any  general  work  in  the  field. 

All  of  the  members  of  our  Station  have  contributed  very 
generously  in  this  latter  way,  and  it  will  seem  very  hard 
to  them  to  substitute  this  debt  for  the  objects  already  selected 
to  be  helped.  At  the  same  time  I  feel  that  it  is  a  good  move, 
and  we  should  all  have  a  share  in  it,  no  matter  how  small 
that  share  may  be. 

The  needs  of  the  future  necessarily  give  rise  now  and 
then  to  some  anxiety.  I  am  perplexed  whenever  I  stop  to 
think  of  the  future,  but  I  presume  it  will  all  be  made  clear 
in  time.  Next  June  it  will  be  time  for  me  to  go  to  the 
United  States.  In  many  respects,  if  the  present  arrange- 
ments for  the  care  of  the  children  could  continue  indefinitely 
it  would  be  the  most  convenient  and  simple.  The  question 
also  arises  whether  or  no  I  ought  to  resign  on  arriving  in 
America.  It  would  probably  be  easier  for  me,  with  Eliza- 


212  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

beth's  [his  daughter]  help  to  care  for  them  [the  children] 
in  America  than  here,  if  I  were  to  resign  and  find  employ- 
ment there.  If  I  am  to  go  into  professional  work  there, 
the  sooner  the  better,  for  the  older  I  get  the  harder  it  will 
be  to  adapt  myself  to  the  new  conditions  of  practising  in 
America,  which  I  have  never  done.  But,  as  I  said  before, 
I  try  not  to  allow  these  things  to  wear  on  me  too  much, 
for  the  future  can  care  for  itself,  and  plan  as  we  may,  we 
are  not  likely  to  carry  out  what  we  now  lay  out  for  ourselves. 

We  have  just  been  having  a  Conference  at  the  Lakeside. 
I  could  not  be  there  all  the  time.  I  have,  however,  given 
them  two  lectures,  one  on  "  The  Progress  of  Science,"  and 
the  other  on  "  The  Effects  of  Alcohol."  I  could  do  this  by 
going  down  one  afternoon  and  giving  one  lecture  in  the 
evening  and  the  other  in  the  morning,  and  then  coming  away. 

The  country  is  in  as  bad  a  state  as  it  can  well  be.  There 
is  no  justice  for  the  people;  there  is  but  little  safety  for 
life  or  property.  The  Armenian  Revolutionists,  who  have 
been  assembling  in  S almas  for  some  time  past,  have  gone 
just  over  the  border,  and  have  secured  themselves  in  the 
Monastery  of  Albak,  and  from  there  are  making  raids  upon 
the  Kurds. 

URUMIA,  October  9th,  1897. — Since  my  last  report  764 
persons  have  been  helped  in  coming  to  Persia.  On  the  other 
hand,  about  150  tomans  have  been  expended  in  assisting 
back  to  Turkey  255  souls  who  had  decided  that  they  could 
support  themselves  better  there  than  here.  Although  this 
fund  is  not  to  help  people  back  to  Turkey,  the  main  object 
in  all  our  effort  is  to  do  the  best  things  possible  for  these 
poor  people,  and  if  it  is  clear  that  they  can  do  better  there 
than  here,  it  seems  our  duty  to  assist  them  to  do  so.  There 
are  at  present  here  in  Urumia,  scattered  in  the  different 
villages,  about  6,100  persons,  or  about  1,000  families  of 
these  refugees.  About  500  families  have  been  assisted  to 
settle  here.  We  have  secured  from  the  proprietors  of  the 
villages  houses  for  them  and  land  for  them  to  till.  About 
200  yoke  of  oxen  had  been  divided  among  them,  together 
with  ploughs  and  some  other  minor  implements  for  farming. 
To  a  few  we  have  given  help  in  the  way  of  feed  for  the 
oxen,  cows,  and  sheep  which  we  have  given  to  them. 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  213 

Others  we  have  helped  to  self-support  by  giving  the  necessary 
capital  to  start  them  in  some  trade,  to  some  the  rental  of 
vineyards  or  orchards,  to  some  tools,  to  others  donkeys 
to  enable  them  to  peddle  fruit  or  to  carry  loads  for  people, 
to  one,  a  photographer,  a  horse  to  go  about  from  place  to 
place  and  make  his  living  in  this  way.  During  the  summer, 
when  work  can  be  found  more  easily  throughout  the  country, 
we  have  given  comparatively  little  work.  We  are  now  sup- 
plying all  those  who  have  ploughs  with  as  much  seed  as  our 
funds  will  admit.  We  still  have  to  furnish  some,  especially 
the  newcomers,  with  bedding  and  clothing  to  some  extent, 
and  food  for  the  crippled  and  sick  who  can  neither  work 
nor  beg.  There  has  been  a  great  deal  of  sickness  among 
these  people  this  summer,  and  quite  a  large  number  have 
died.  Our  dispensaries  have  been  full  of  the  applicants  for 
medical  aid. 

Muharram  this  year  was  a  time  of  more  than  usual 
anxiety  for  the  Christians.  This  Moslem  festival  is 
always  a  season  of  fanaticism  and  danger,  but  this 
year  two  Moslems  had  been  shot  and  wounded  on  the 
big  avenue  outside  the  Seir  gate.  The  blame  was  laid 
on  the  Nestorians,  and  they  and  the  Armenians  were 
forbidden  to  go  to  the  market  during  the  rest  of  Muhar- 
ram. One  day  Christians  were  forbidden  to  appear  on 
the  streets  and  the  windows  of  the  Russian  missionaries 
were  broken.  The  Nestorians  turned  at  once  to  Dr. 
Cochran,  and  he  spent  the  night  most  dreaded  in  the 
city  with  them.  The  season  passed  off  without  out- 
break, though  a  spark  would  have  caused  a  conflagra- 
tion. 

In  the  fall,  Dr.  Mathews  of  London,  Secretary  of 
the  Pan-Presbyterian  Alliance,  visited  the  field,  and 
was  present  at  the  meeting  of  the  Evangelical  Synod. 

All  winter  and  spring  Dr.  Cochran  was  busy  getting 
the  work  in  condition  to  leave  for  his  next  furlough 
in  the  summer  of  1898,  and  there  were  new  special 


214  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

anxieties.  Of  one  of  these,  he  wrote,  in  a  letter  to  the 
secretary  of  the  Board  who  had  visited  Persia  in  1896, 
and  who  had  argued  in  his  report  that  the  time  had 
come  to  lay  more  emphasis  upon  work  for  Moslems : — 

I  would  think  that  too  much  stress  is  laid  upon  the 
necessity  to  make  the  Mission  a  mission  to  the  Mohamme- 
dans rather  than  to  the  Nestorians.  I  do  not  see  any  pros- 
pect as  yet  for  any  change  in  that  direction.  I  think  we 
must  keep  that  aspect  of  the  work  more  constantly  before 
us,  and  we  must  all  do  more  than  we  are  doing  in  work 
which  will  have  direct  effect  upon  the  Mohammedans,  but 
we  cannot  think  for  a  moment  of  having  our  work  under- 
stood to  be  primarily  for  the  Moslems.  We  have  just  been 
saved  from  a  mob  law  here  in  consequence  of  an  accident 
which  occurred  in  Geogtapa  a  short  time  ago,  when  one  of 
three  Moslems  who  had  gone  out  there  to  collect  a  debt 
died  just  as  he  reached  the  city  gates.  The  excitement  was 
intense.  The  Governor  had  one  of  the  Christians  beheaded 
without  trial  or  any  proof  of  guilt,  and  the  people  of  the 
city  started  out  to  loot  the  village.  The  chief  ecclesiastic, 
whom  I  was  attending  daily,  exerted  himself,  staying  up  a 
whole  night,  threatening  some,  advising  others,  and  begging 
others  to  desist  from  violence.  It  is  only  just  now  that  the 
city  is  getting  quiet.  The  Moslems  looked  upon  it  as  an 
excuse  to  fight  and  kill  and  loot  Christians,  and  worked  them- 
selves up  into  a  great  fury,  so  much  so  that  for  days  the 
Geogtapa  people  did  not  dare  appear  outside  nor  even  to  stay 
in  their  village  (the  men  I  mean).  So,  too,  for  other  Chris- 
tians there  were  many  threats.  The  Geogtapa  people  lost  a 
man  and  about  850  tomans,  taken  by  tbe  government  officials 
and  by  outside  roughs  who  stole  or  openly  robbed,  aside  from 
outrages  committted,  which  have  never  been  done  by  govern- 
ment officials  here.  There  are  many  watching  constantly  for 
excuses  to  commit  all  sorts  of  outrages  on  the  Christians, 
and  nothing  would  give  this  class  a  better  opportunity  nor 
a  better  lever  to  the  majority  of  the  Moslems  than  this 
knowledge  that  there  was  a  Mission  here  specially  working 
among  the  Moslems.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  but  that  it 
would  result  in  the  loss  of  much  life  among  the  native 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  215 

Christians  and  the  expulsion  of  the  missionaries.  At  the 
same  time,  I  agree  with  you  that  we  must  keep  this  object 
before  our  eyes  continually,  and  enter  every  door  as  it  opens. 
...  I  hope  the  Board  will  do  all  it  can  to  enable  us  to 
do  all  that  is  possible  for  the  mountains  from  this  end.  .  .  . 
I  feel  sure  that  the  way  for  us  to  get  in  is  to  sit  and  sit 
and  hold  on  tenaciously.  At  the  same  time,  our  minister 
in  Constantinople  should  be  informed  of  the  move  so  that 
should  he  be  appealed  to  he  would  understand  the  situation, 
and  insist  that  we  had  a  right  to  sit  there,  just  as  well  as 
in  many  another  place  in  Turkey ;  that  we  had  had  a  Station 
there,  and  that  for  many  years  we  had  had  work  there,  etc. 
I  have  not  discussed  this  with  the  Station  as  yet,  but  when 
we  do,  and  arrive  at  some  definite  conclusion,  of  course  we 
will  write  definitely  and  fully. 

His  last  letters  to  home  friends,  before  leaving  for 
America,  were: — 

JANUARY  29th,  1898. — From  all  I  can  see,  it  seems  to  me 
I  should  plan  to  come  back  here  and  go  on  with  my  work 
here,  for  which  I  am  better  fitted  than  for  any  other,  and 
which  I  can  do  better  than  any  one  else  could  for  some 
years,  and  where  I  can  undoubtedly  do  more  good  than  I 
could  in  America,  and  then  if  the  way  does  not  open  for 
me  to  return,  it  will  be  clear  enough  that  I  am  not  needed 
here. 

MAY  21st. — These  last  weeks  before  I  leave  are  very  busy 
ones.  There  are  many  last  things  that  have  to  be  done  in 
connection  with  our  general  work,  and  many  to  close  up 
the  medical  work.  Yesterday  I  gave  the  medical  class  their 
last  recitation,  and  on  Monday  their  examinations  will  be 
held,  and  those  that  are  successful  will  take  their  diplomas 
on  the  following  Wednesday.  Following  this  will  be  the 
meeting  of  the  college  alumni.  To  complicate  matters,  a 
general,  with  his  whole  family  and  a  number  of  servants 
has  come  from  Sulduz,  two  days'  journey  to  the  south  of 
us,  to  be  treated.  The  chief  patient  is  the  wife,  who  is  a 
sister  of  our  best  friend  there,  a  man  who  appreciates  our 


216      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

medical  work,  and  for  whom  I  have  done  much.  Not  a  few 
of  the  attendants  are  also  sick.  The  general  himself  is 
also  under  treatment.  They  have  a  couple  of  rooms  given 
to  them,  and  they  take  care  of  themselves  so  far  as  cooking 
is  concerned.  They  have  also  brought  all  their  carpets, 
beds,  and  dishes. 

Then  an  important  Armenian  has  just  arrived  to-day 
from  Van,  sent  by  Dr.  Reynolds.  He  requires  a  big  opera- 
tion on  his  face.  Aside  from  these,  we  have  only  two  or 
three  patients  left.  Then  there  are  a  number  of  the  chief 
people  of  the  city  under  treatment,  and  requiring  a  good 
deal  of  time.  These  are  the  excuses  for  not  writing  oftener 
of  late,  and  also  show  how  I  am  busying  myself  before 
leaving. 

We  still  expect  to  leave  here  the  14th  of  June,  and  to 
sail  from  London  the  14th  of  July.  Just  where  I  had 
better  make  my  headquarters  I  do  not  know.  Of  course, 
I  must  be  where  I  can  do  a  good  deal  in  the  professional 
way,  so  as  to  improve  the  opportunity  as  much  as  possible. 

In  his  last  letter  to  the  Board  before  leaving,  he 
wrote : — 


Through  the  courtesy  of  the  Amir  Nizam  in  Tabriz, 
the  Governor-General  of  this  Province,  and  the  Crown 
Prince,  we  have  been  able  to  secure  two  ragams  (royal 
decrees)  which  have  been  and  will  continue  to  be  of  great 
service  to  the  Christian  community  here.  One  of  them 
mitigates  the  great  wrong  that  is  constantly  perpetrated  on 
those  Christians  who  have  lost  from  their  family  a  member 
by  his  or  her  having  joined  the  Moslems.  The  Islamic  law 
commands  that  the  property  of  all  relatives  to  the  seventh 
degree  of  relationship  shall  come  to  the  Moslems  with  this 
new  convert.  This,  you  can  see,  makes  no  end  of  trouble, 
and  gives  no  end  of  excuses  for  annoying  the  relatives. 
The  present  order  grants  only  that  portion  which  any 
Moslem  could  command  from  his  relatives.  The  other  one 
was  secured  in  order  to  give  our  people  more  confidence, 
and  to  help  them  in  cases  of  litigation  with  other  Christian 
sects.  You  know  that  our  Church  has  a  Legal  Board  to 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  217 

which  are  referred  all  cases  pertaining  to  its  members  where 
ecclesiastical  decisions  are  required,  as  the  validity  of  notes, 
deeds,  settlement  of  quarrels,  inheritances,  divorces,  etc. 
Up  to  the  present  time  our  Church  has  not  had  any  formal 
written  recognition  of  its  right  and  authority  to  act  upon 
these  matters,  but  by  our  influence  with  the  governors  and 
others  in  authority,  we  have  also  insisted  upon  recognition, 
and  have  obtained  it.  As  I  am  expecting  to  go  away,  it 
seemed  a  good  time  to  ask  formally  for  such  an  order,  and 
this  ragam  has  now  been  secured. 

It  is  only  just  to  add  that  the  Civil  Law  in  Persia 
does  not  recognize  the  Ecclesiastical  Law  as  binding, 
and  the  Islamic  provision  has  never  been  enforced  in 
Persia  in  its  full  stringency.  Dr.  Cochran's  last  re- 
port before  leaving  for  his  furlough  was  characteris- 
tically simple  and  straightforward: — 

The  hospital  has  been  open  during  this  period  with  the 
exception  of  the  three  months  when  it  has  always  been  our 
custom  to  close  it.  During  those  months,  also,  a  few  who 
had  come  from  long  distances  had  to  be  received.  At  one 
time  it  looked  as  if  we  must  not  open  this  hospital  again 
this  year,  and  indeed  we  could  not  have  done  so  had  not 
the  missionaries  and  others  come  to  our  rescue.  The  total 
number  of  patients  for  the  time  under  consideration  was 
577.  The  total  seen  by  me  in  and  out  of  the  hospital 
was  9,352.  Quite  a  number  were  from  the  refugees  from 
Turkey,  Nestorians  and  Armenians.  The  sufferings  en- 
dured by  many  of  these  people  in  making  their  way  over 
here  was  something  terrible.  Unable  to  come  away  openly, 
a  company  would  start  out  from  their  village  in  the  night, 
under  escort  of  paid  Kurds.  Neither  the  Christians  nor 
the  Kurds  dared  to  be  seen  on  the  public  roads  in  the  val- 
leys, and  so  steep  and  high  mountains  had  to  be  crossed. 
At  night  they  could  not  venture  into  villages,  and  so  would 
pass  the  darkest  hours  in  the  best  shelter  they  could  find 
among  the  rocks,  surrounded  by  banks  of  the  perpetual 
snows;  or  those  who  came  later  in  the  season  would  make 
the  whole  journey  in  snow.  Some  of  them  sick,  owing  to 


218  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

privations,  to  start  with;  most  of  them  with  bread  enough 
for  a  day  or  two  at  best;  and  all  of  them  thinly  clad  and 
from  four  to  eight  days  on  the  road,  would  reach  TJrumia 
in  a  sad  condition.  It  is  not  strange  that  from  among  these 
people  the  hospital  should  get  many  applicants.  The  largest 
number  suffered  from  frozen  toes  and  fingers,  many  of 
which  had  to  be  amputated.  Others  had  lung  troubles  and 
low  fevers.  Three  Armenians  who  were  tracked  and  chased, 
but  finally  escaped,  and  after  ten  days  of  hunger,  bitter 
cold,  and  fright  reached  us  but  one  step  removed  from 
raving  maniacs.  After  a  long  pull  they  recovered  fully. 
Not  a  few  came  to  us  torn  most  cruelly  by  dog  bites  in 
their  rounds  for  food  in  the  villages  after  getting  here. 
Severe  dysentery  and  malaria  have  brought  others  to  the 
hospital.  It  has  been  a  great  satisfaction,  with  the  money 
so  generously  provided  for  this  work,  to  be  able  to  care  for 
these  poor  patients.  With  warm  rooms  and  bedding  and 
good  food  in  addition  to  the  medicine,  these  poor  people  pick 
up  very  quickly  usually,  although  we  have  had  several  deaths 
among  them. 

There  have  been  Kurdish  chiefs  and  Kurdish  subjects  in 
the  hospital.  Among  the  latter  class  we  have  now  a  young 
man  who  was  sent  here  by  his  chief  to  steal  another  chief's 
mules.  He  and  his  two  companions  stole  up  to  the  place 
where  the  mules  were  feeding,  and  secured  three,  and  started 
off  with  them,  but  were  surrounded  by  their  owners  who 
recovered  the  animals,  killed  his  companions,  and  shot  him 
through  the  lower  jaw,  fracturing  it,  and  tearing  open  his 
mouth  almost  to  the  ear.  Now  that  he  has  nearly  recov- 
ered, his  wild  and  belligerent  nature  is  again  asserting  itself, 
and  he  is  picking  quarrels  with  his  fellow-patients.  I  have 
had  to  take  his  dagger  from  him,  and  threaten  to  dismiss 
him  if  he  does  not  behave. 

We  have  had  several  Nestorian  patients  from  Saat,  a  vil- 
lage situated  far  from  any  other  Christian  village,  among 
a  powerful  Kurdish  tribe.  This  village  lies,  or  hangs,  on 
the  side  of  a  very  steep  and  high  mountain,  in  one  of 
the  wildest  and  most  inaccessible  parts  of  Kurdistan. 
Through  all  these  centuries  the  Christians  have  remained 
here  because  of  a  church  which  tradition  says  was  built 
upon  the  death  and  over  the  grave  of  one  of  the  seventy 


"  IN  MUCH  STEADFASTNESS  "  219 

whom  Christ  sent  out  to  preach.  These  churches  in  the 
mountains  usually  have  a  little  land  connected  with  them 
which  is  cultivated  by  the  priest  and  those  in  charge.  The 
Kurds  look  with  superstitious  reverence  and  fear  upon  these 
churches,  and  so  do  not  utterly  rob  the  people,  but  allow 
them  to  remain  in  these  places  far  away  from  other  Chris- 
tians. It  is  in  this  region  that  the  Sheikh  Kadir  made  his 
last  stand  after  the  Kurdish  invasion  of  west  Persia  in 
1880  before  being  taken  by  the  Turks  to  Constantinople. 
The  stories  told  of  the  swift  punishment  meted  out  to 
offenders  by  the  saints  of  these  churches  are  many,  and 
believed  alike  by  Christian  and  Kurd.  We  have  had  a 
number  of  patients  from  another  village  in  Turkey,  but 
nearer  the  frontier.  The  inhabitants,  after  being  plundered 
repeatedly  by  the  Kurds,  and  fearing  they  might  share  the 
same  treatment  which  the  Turks  had  been  giving  to  the 
Armenians,  left  their  village  and  came  to  Persia  to  live. 
This  village,  too,  has  an  old  church,  said  to  be  built  over 
1,200  years  ago.  Since  the  village  was  forsaken,  the  Kurds 
have  been  taking  away  everything  movable  from  the  houses. 
A  few  days  ago  a  band  undertook  to  take  away  the  church 
door.  (The  church  doors  are  always  very  low  in  order 
to  secure  them  against  desecration  by  having  animals 
driven  in  by  their  enemies.)  It  was  loaded  on  a  horse,  and 
he  died  almost  immediately,  when  they  put  it  on  to  a  second, 
and  he  met  with  an  accident  which  disabled  him.  The  third 
horse  got  it  to  its  destination,  together  with  the  robbers, 
who  at  last  accounts  were  still  surviving.  We  have  had 
more  than  the  usual  number  of  Moslems  this  year,  and 
most  of  them  have  gone  away  most  grateful  and  under  a 
deep  impression  of  the  spirit  of  the  religion  which  would 
impel  its  followers  to  provide  such  means  for  the  welfare 
of  all  nationalities.  .  .  . 

Among  the  outside  patients  have  been  many  leading  people 
of  the  place,  the  governors,  the  chief  Moslem  ecclesiastics, 
and  many  Khans,  one  of  them  the  highest  in  rank  in  the 
place,  who  died  after  a  long  siege,  has  been  a  lifelong  friend 
of  the  missionaries.  He  was  one  of  a  small  class  of  Khans 
who  took  a  few  lessons  in  English  with  Dr.  Austin  Wright. 
One  other  old  gentleman,  also  a  member  of  that  class  and  a 
good  friend,  has  been  under  my  care  the  past  year.  I  think, 


220  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

without  exception,  the  members  of  that  class,  largely  a  result 
of  that  intimacy  forty-five  years  ago,  have  been  most  courte- 
ous, kind,  and  helpful  to  our  Mission.  Both  of  these  men 
were  sick  in  their  summer  home  about  fifteen  and  twenty 
miles  out  of  the  city.  The  latter  Khan  gives  twenty  horse 
loads  of  wheat  to  the  hospital  annually. 

A  man  of  peace  and  love  in  the  midst  of  turmoil  and 
hate,  he  had  ever  walked  as  reconciler  and  friend. 
Open  to  all,  rich  and  poor,  fearing  no  man,  however 
great,  and  firm  for  justice  for  each  man,  however  lowly, 
he  had  lived  his  life  in  Urumia,  and  no  man  in  the  city, 
perhaps  no  man  in  the  Province,  was  feared  and  loved 
as  he.  But  his  only  strength  was  the  strength  of  his 
Christian  service  and  his  Christian  integrity. 


XII 


HIS  LAST  VISIT   TO  AMERICA   AND   RETURN 
TO  PERSIA 

IN  the  summer  of  1898,  with  his  son  Harry,  Dr. 
Cochran  came  to  America  for  the  visit  which  was 
to  prove  his  last.  After  a  short  stop  with  friends 
near  New  York  and  Buffalo,  he  went  on  to  Minneapolis 
to  his  wife's  family,  where  Clement  and  Lillie  were. 
"  We  had  rented  a  cottage  at  Lake  Minnetonka  that 
summer,"  wrote  his  sister-in-law,  "  and  there  he  spent 
several  weeks  in  August  and  September  with  the  three 
older  children.  His  sister,  Mrs.  Scott,  also  came  from 
California,  and  met  him  there.  Some  of  our  other 
young  people  were  there,  and  altogether  we  had  quite 
a  houseful  of  young  folks.  It  was  delightful  to  see 
Dr.  Cochran  throw  off  the  burdens  he  had  borne  so 
long  and  enter  into  all  the  sports  and  interests  of  the 
young  people,  rowing,  sailing,  swimming,  etc.  He 
was  always  young  at  heart.  At  that  time  everybody 
was  riding  a  bicycle.  Not  to  be  behind  the  times,  he 
was  ambitious  to  learn,  and  accomplished  the  feat 
about  as  quickly  as  the  average  boy.  In  a  few  days 
he  had  learned  to  ride,  and  came  in  town  to  select  a 
bicycle  for  himself,  and  rode  it  out,  a  distance  of  some 
fifteen  miles.  His  great  regret  was  that  it  would  not 
be  considered  dignified  for  him  to  ride  one  in  Persia. 
"  One  of  the  vivid  remembrances  of  that  visit  is  an 
address  that  he  delivered  in  Plymouth  Church  one  Sun- 

221 


222  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

day  morning.  It  was  one  of  the  noblest  missionary 
addresses  I  ever  heard.  He  spoke  very  calmly,  but 
with  a  force  drawn  from  his  own  experience  that  car- 
ried conviction.  Many  spoke  of  it  at  the  time,  and 
that  talk  is  still  remembered. 

"  We  spent  two  delightful  evenings  in  hearing  him 
read  his  journal  of  the  trip  to  Nineveh  and  Babylon, 
with  comments  and  illustrations,  to  the  family  and 
intimate  friends.  That  journal  was  very  interesting. 
We  always  meant  to  have  a  copy  of  it,  but  failed  to 
do  so.  I  hardly  know  how  much  of  the  charm  of  it 
was  in  hearing  him  read  it,  with  the  comments  he 
added  at  the  time." 

He  spent  the  winter  with  Mr.  Clement  in  Buffalo, 
visiting  the  hospitals  and  reading  up  on  his  profession, 
and  speaking  upon  missions  in  Persia,  often  with  lan- 
tern slides.  He  was  utterly  unpretentious  in  his  style 
of  address,  never  departing  from  the  tone  of  a  calm  and 
completely  unselfish  restraint.  At  times  when  he 
spoke  in  company  with  one  who  knew  him  and  the 
greatness  of  his  service,  his  companion  could  not  re- 
frain from  telling  the  people  almost  with  indignation 
of  the  inadequacy  of  the  doctor's  statements  about 
his  own  work.  He  made  no  parade  of  it,  and  the  ordi- 
nary hearer,  anxious  for  something  melodramatic  or 
sensational,  would  never  have  gathered  from  the  calm 
talk  of  the  quiet  little  man,  in  his  simple  but  always 
faultless  dress,  which  represented  the  most  careful 
and  manly  economy,  that  he  was  listening  to  one  whose 
life  was  full  of  the  most  dramatic  experiences,  and 
whose  name  was  a  name  to  conjure  with  in  a  great 
Persian  province,  and  among  all  the  valleys  of  Kurdi- 
stan. He  disliked  prominence  and  all  advertising,  and 
sought  no  great  audiences,  but  went  where  he  was 


LAST  VISIT  TO  AMERICA  223 

asked,  and  wherever  he  went,  as  on  his  previous  fur- 
lough, there  were  some  who  saw  beyond  the  simple 
unpretentiousness,  the  man's  great  power,  and  who  felt 
the  distinction  of  his  character.  He  was  watchful  .for 
useful  small  services.  He  secured  the  introduction  of 
a  proper  list  of  books  on  Persia  into  the  Minneapolis 
Public  Library,  and  he  was  earnest  in  presenting  to 
the  Board  the  conditions  and  needs  of  the  field  and 
of  his  associates  there.  He  praised  the  work  others 
were  doing,  and  sought  to  support  it  in  every  way. 
He  looked  for  a  good  man,  to  be  appointed  specially 
for  the  mountain  work,  and  he  interviewed,  with  this 
in  view,  a  number  of  theological  students.  "  I  do  not 
know,"  he  wrote,  "  of  a  more  open  field  among  any 
Mohammedans  than  there  is  among  the  Kurds  of  this 
mountain  field."  While  he  was  at  home  Dr.  Labaree, 
who  had  been  away  from  Persia  from  1891  to  1898, 
returned  to  give  the  remaining  years  of  his  life  to  the 
work,  and  although  in  seniority  he  would  supersede 
Dr.  Cochran,  the  doctor  wrote,  rejoicing  unfeignedly 
in  the  great  accession  of  strength  which  he  would 
bring  to  the  Station.  He  was  very  scrupulous  as  al- 
ways in  all  money  matters.  He  would  not  touch  a 
dollar  for  his  own  work  which  he  could  secure  for 
the  general  work  of  the  Board.  "  I  am  called  upon 
to  speak  here  and  there  a  good  deal,"  he  wrote,  "  and 
when  I  am  asked  on  what  terms  I  will  do  it,  I  tell 
them  that  I  make  no  charge,  aside  from  the  expenses 
of  getting  to  and  from  the  place,  and  that  if  any 
special  contribution  is  taken  up  in  connection  with  the 
service  I  would  wish  it  to  go  to  the  Board  for  Foreign 
Mission  Work." 

His  own  work  in  Urumia  was  conducted  in  the  most 
careful  and  economical  way,  and  he  had  hoped  that 


224  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

while  he  was  gone  and  the  hospital  was  closed,  the 
small  appropriation  made  for  it  might  be  used  to 
improve  the  equipment.  The  Station  found  it  neces- 
sary, however,  to  use  the  appropriation  in  other  ways. 
He  generously  concurred,  and  would  have  gone  back  to 
work  with  the  old  equipment  had  not  friends  who  in- 
vited him  to  Florida  for  a  few  weeks  in  the  winter 
generously  provided  for  the  hospital's  needs,  including 
a  new  operating  room,  surgical  instruments,  and  hos- 
pital furnishings.  In  the  spring  he  came  to  New  York 
for  special  work  in  the  Post-graduate  Medical  School. 
While  in  New  York  he  went  with  one  of  the  secre- 
taries of  the  Board  to  Washington  to  see  Mr.  Foster 
and  Mr.  Hay.  No  one  could  foresee  at  that  time  what 
might  be  the  issue  of  the  Russian  Mission  in  Urumia. 
It  was  not  impossible  that  the  Russian  government 
might  follow  up  the  priests  of  the  Greek  Church  and 
Azerbaijan  pass  in  some  sense  under  Russian  control. 
The  Station  thought  it  would  be  very  desirable  for 
Mr.  Foster,  former  Secretary  of  State,  who  had  ever 
been  a  firm  friend  of  the  Mission  work,  and  for  Mr. 
Hay,  who  was  then  Secretary  of  State,  to  be  informed 
of  the  conditions  in  Persia,  and  especially  that  Mr. 
Hay  should  know,  as  Mr.  Foster  already  knew,  the 
extent  of  the  Mission  work  and  the  breadth  and  the 
long  continued  recognition  of  its  rights.  Mr.  Hay  was 
very  attentive  to  the  statement  made  to  him,  and  at 
the  close  spoke  with  a  positiveness  which  surprised  his 
visitors  of  the  assurance  which  they  might  feel  that 
even  if  Russia  should  take  possession  of  northern  Per- 
sia the  missionaries  should  not  be  dispossessed  of  any 
of  the  rights  which  they  enjoyed.  On  returning  to 
New  York,  Dr.  Cochran  prepared  a  brief  statement 
to  be  included  in  a  larger  memorandum  for  which 


RETURN  TO  PERSIA  225 

Mr.  Hay  had  asked,  embodying  the  facts  laid  before 
him. 

In  the  spring  of  1899  he  returned  to  Minneapolis 
to  the  meeting  of  the  General  Assembly.  "  The  im- 
pression he  made  during  that  visit,"  wrote  one  who 
saw  a  great  deal  of  him,  "  was  of  a  character  rounded 
and  mellowed  by  all  the  work  and  all  the  suffering  of 
his  life.  He  was  at  ease  in  any  society,  and  enjoyed 
to  the  full  all  the  really  good  things  of  this  world,  but 
no  one  could  meet  him  without  feeling  the  strong, 
deep,  steady  purpose  of  a  life  consecrated  to  God  and  to 
his  fellowmen." 

He  sailed  on  the  "  S.  S.  Mesaba "  in  July.  "  And 
now  good-bye/'  he  wrote,  in  his  last  letter  to  his  Board 
correspondent.  "  My  year  has  been  full  of  blessings, 
and  I  am  deeply  touched  by  the  kindness  and  love  of 
all  whom  I  have  had  much  to  do  with.  I  only  pray 
to  deserve  it  and  to  make  return  by  more  faithful  and 
fruitful  work." 

On  Monday,  September  llth,  he  arrived  in  Urumia 
to  begin  his  twenty-first  year  of  missionary  service. 
It  is  the  Persian  custom  to  honour  the  return  home 
of  a  friend  by  going  out  a  considerable  distance  to 
meet  him,  or  by  sending  out  some  representative  to 
convey  greetings  of  welcome,  or  in  case  the  person  is 
held  in  very  high  esteem,  and  the  party  doing  the 
honour  is  of  sufficient  position,  to  send  out  a  capari- 
soned horse  or  two,  to  be  led  before  the  arriving  friend. 
Among  the  missionaries,  it  has  been  the  practice  to 
welcome  the  friends  from  a  distance  by  preparing  a 
picnic  lunch  for  them  near  a  bridge  some  three  hours, 
away  from  the  city,  and  then  riding  in  with  them. 

It  was  there  [wrote  Dr.  Labaree]  that  we  met  our  friends 
last  Monday,  they  reaching  the  place  about  noon.  Fifty  or 


226      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

sixty  of  the  principal  men  in  the  Protestant  Church  from 
different  parts  of  the  field  had  come  on  horseback  to  the 
rendezvous,  and  with  them  the  young  Christian  physician 
of  the  Persian  Governor  of  the  Province,  sent  by  him  with 
his  special  compliments  for  the  new  arrival.  A  few  women, 
too,  members  of  a  not  distant  church,  had  come  on  foot, 
all  joining  in  the  hearty,  joyous  reception  to  the  greatly 
beloved  friends  from  America. 

It  was  after  one  o'clock  when  the  large  procession  started 
to  do  the  last  ten  or  twelve  miles.  Our  missionary  families 
and  the  ladies  were  in  three-wheeled  vehicles,  and  following 
them  came  the  large  cavalcade,  Dr.  Cochran  at  the  head, 
in  social  chat  with  preachers  and  laymen.  As  we  moved  on, 
the  number  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  other  horsemen 
from  the  city,  each  dismounting  as  he  approached,  for  so 
is  the  custom  of  the  land,  and  taking  the  doctor's  hand,  and 
fervently  greeting  him.  This  had  also  been  done  when  the 
missionary  carriages  with  Miss  Dean  and  Miss  Van  Duzee 
were  met,  who  returned  with  him,  and  whom  pastors  and 
relatives  of  old  pupils  were  delighted  to  greet.  After  per- 
haps an  hour's  ride,  we  were  met  by  a  carriage  and  outriders 
sent  by  one  of  the  principal  Mohammedan  noblemen  of  the 
city,  in  charge  of  a  responsible  secretary.  It  was  something 
of  a  relief  for  Dr.  Cochran  to  get  out  of  the  tremendous 
dust  into  this  comfortable  conveyance.  Later  on,  three 
other  carriages  from  others  of  the  nobility  came  up,  in 
which,  in  deference  to  the  courtesies  shown,  different  mem- 
bers of  the  Mission  took  seats.  A  further  striking  feature 
of  the  constantly  growing  procession  were  three  handsomely 
caparisoned  horses  from  the  stables  of  Persian  military  and 
civil  officials,  led  before  the  carriage  in  which  Dr.  Cochran 
was  seated.  There  was  a  halt  from  time  to  time  to  allow 
the  honoured  friends  to  receive  the  salutations  of  freshly 
arriving  parties,  either  groups  of  Nestorians  or  representa- 
tives of  some  Persian  nobleman,  or  mullah  of  note,  address- 
ing the  newcomers  after  Persian  mode  of  elegant  speech. 
These  falling  in  with  the  escort,  its  numbers  must  have 
swollen  ere  we  reached  the  city  walls  to  nearly  two  hundred, 
all  mounted  men,  now  crowded  together  as  we  passed  between 
the  walled  vineyards,  and  now  in  more  scattered  ranks,  some- 
times at  a  rapid  canter,  but  always  orderly  and  decorous, 


RETURN  TO  PERSIA  227 

which  cannot  always  be  said  of  Persian  receptions  of  this 
kind.  As  we  came  near  the  city,  there  were  groups  here 
and  there  of  men  and  women  on  foot,  desirous  of  showing 
some  attention  to  their  returning  missionary  friends,  com- 
ing up  to  the  carriages  with  their  glad  words  of  welcome, 
and  sometimes  with  offerings  of  fruit  from  their  nearby 
vineyards. 

It  was  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  this  remarkable 
ovation  came  to  its  close  on  reaching  our  premises  at  the 
city. 

It  is  seldom  that  any  one  among  the  Persians  themselves, 
except  it  be  an  official  of  very  high  rank,  is  treated  with 
such  distinguished  consideration  as  was  Dr.  Cochran  on 
this  occasion.  As  a  mark  of  the  high  favour  in  which  our 
missionary  physician  is  held  throughout  a  proud  Moslem 
community,  it  is  most  gratifying.  And  it  should  be  borne 
in  mind  that  it  is  the  sterling  character  of  the  man,  even 
more  than  the  skill  of  the  successful  physician,  which 
inspires  them  thus  to  honour  this  representative  missionary. 
The  writer  was  told,  as  we  were  moving  along  on  this  occa- 
sion, of  a  recent  interview  between  a  Moslem  ecclesiastic 
not  so  well  informed  about  Dr.  Cochran,  and  one  of  the 
nobility  represented  in  this  ovation :  "  Who  is  this  Dr. 
Cochran  ? "  said  the  sayid.  The  nobleman  replied,  "  I  will 
tell  you  about  him.  Let  alone  his  eminence  as  a  physician, 
he  is  a  man  of  such  integrity  of  character  that  once  when 
I  thought  myself  near  to  death,  I  made  my  will,  and  instead 
of  intrusting  it  to  any  of  the  heads  of  my  own  religion,  I 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  Dr.  Cochran  for  safekeeping  and 
honest  execution." 

In  the  few  days  following  Dr.  Cochran's  arrival,  all 
the  more  prominent  noblemen  of  Urumia  City  called 
personally  upon  him,  and  some  of  the  leading  Moslem 
ecclesiastics,  a  notable  exception  to  their  habitually 
proud  bearing  toward  Christian  foreigners. 

"  The  reception  was  immense,"  wrote  Mr.  Shedd,  "  no 
foreigners  ever  had  such  a  spontaneous  welcome  as  he 
got — especially  from  the  Persian  nobility."  All  that 


228  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

he  himself  wrote  was  the  characteristically  modest 
statement,  "  We  had  a  comfortable  and  pleasant  jour- 
ney. I  had  planned  to  write  to  you  by  the  first  post 
after  our  arrival,  but  my  time  has  been  very  fully 
occupied  by  the  numerous  calls  from  all  classes  and 
creeds.  We  have  had  a  very  cordial  and  hearty  wel- 
come back." 


S 


XIII 
THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK 

OON  after  his  arrival  he  went  to  Tabriz  to  the 
annual  meeting  of  the  Mission.  On  returning 
he  wrote : — 


So  far  as  I  was  concerned,  I  was  glad  to  go  away  again 
almost  as  soon  as  I  reached  home,  because  our  diminished 
estimate  for  the  medical  department  would  not  allow  of 
my  opening  the  hospital  as  soon  as  that,  and  the  people 
were  flocking  in  for  treatment  in  it,  from  far  and  from 
near,  and  it  would  be  next  to  impossible  to  remain  here  and 
not  open  the  hospital. 

The  outlook  in  the  Tabriz  field  is  favourable,  in  some 
parts  of  it  at  least;  especially  in  Salmas  and  on  the  southern 
shore  of  the  Lake.  The  Armenians  in  Tabriz  are  far  more 
friendly  than  they  were  three  or  four  years  ago,  but  whether 
that  is  a  great  advantage  or  not  time  will  tell  alone.  It, 
at  least,  makes  them  more  accessible.  Returning  I  came  by 
the  southern  end  of  the  lake,  and  found  that  the  Moslems 
of  Maragha  and  vicinity,  and  Mianduab  and  vicinity  are 
more  open  than  ever  to  the  Gospel.  I  was  invited  to  go 
to  Sheikh  Baba,  but  the  Kurds  and  Persians  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Souj  Bulak  were  at  odds  with  each  other  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  was  not  wise  for  me  at  this  time  to 
visit  one  of  the  chiefs.  It  would  be  sure  to  be  misinter- 
preted by  both  sides.  This  also  debarred  me  from  Souj 
Bulak,  where  I  wanted  to  go.  In  Sulduz,  however,  I  was 
able  to  stay  and  to  see  the  condition  of  our  work  as  well 
as  to  be  with  some  patients  of  mine  in  the  home  of  the 
chief  man  of  the  district,  Nejef  Kuly  Khan.  Here  in 
TJrumia  the  freshet  or  flood  has  passed,  not  without  a  good 
deal  of  damage,  however,  in  some  places,  but  with  no  harm 

229 


230  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

in  others.  Every  one  seems  to  think  that  we  can  look  for 
better  results  in  our  work  on  the  plain  here  this  winter 
than  ever  before.  Many  of  the  people  who  joined  the  Rus- 
sians willingly  or  by  compulsion  are  now  very  sorry  that 
they  allowed  themselves  to  be  caught  in  the  trap.  In  a  few 
places  there  is  still  a  great  deal  of  opposition  and  persecu- 
tion. I  am  going  out  to-morrow  to  Kosie,  where  our  small 
flock  is  in  great  distress  and  fear  owing  to  the  threats  and 
curses  and  false  talk  of  a  Russianized  priest.  He  is,  more- 
over, able  to  do  the  people  much  damage  in  one  way  and 
another  by  bribing  the  Moslem  overseer,  and  backing  up 
the  rough  classes  in  the  village  in  their  oppression  of  those 
who  have  withstood  the  invitations  of  this  new  Mission.  I 
hope  1  can  comfort  and  encourage  them  a  little.  In  a  few 
days  the  Knushya  (Synod)  convenes  in  Gulpashan.  There 
I  will  be  able  to  pick  up  all  the  threads  of  the  work  again, 
anoT  feel  in  touch  all  along  the  line. 

The  next  three  years  were  years  of  slow  progress 
in  the  work  with  somewhat  less  unrest  and  violence 
in  the  country  than  usual,  and  then  the  storm  broke. 
During  this  time  of  tranquillity  he  pressed  forward  his 
own  work  with  energy,  and  he  entered  as  ever  into 
all  the  plans  of  the  Station.  Dr.  Labaree's  presence 
was  a  great  comfort  to  the  doctor.  His  age,  his  patri- 
archal appearance,  his  noble  character,  and  his  ripe 
wisdom  gave  him  an  influence  and  enabled  him  to  do 
a  work  which  lightened  much  the  burden  which,  before 
his  coming,  had  rested  on  Dr.  Cochran.  "  It  is  a  great 
blessing  to  our  work,"  he  wrote,  "  to  have  a  man  of 
Dr.  Labaree's  calibre,  and  age,  and  experience  here. 
I  hope  that  he  may  be  spared  to  the  work  a  long  time." 
New  opportunities  opened  for  work  among  Moslems. 
"  I  am  doing  all  I  can,"  he  wrote,  "  to  increase  the 
interest  among  our  workers  in  this  work  which  is  so 
important."  It  fell  to  him  to  review  the  work  of  the 
year  for  the  Board,  in  the  fall  of  1900.  He  spoke  of 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         231 

the  college,  the  meeting  of  the  college  alumni,  who 
constituted  the  leading  young  men  of  the  Syrian  na- 
tion, the  Fiske  Seminary,  and  their  alumnae  meeting, 
with  120  graduates  present,  attended  by  Mrs.  Rhea 
of  Lake  Forest,  111.,  who  years  before  had  had  charge 
of  the  Seminary,  the  vain  effort  of  the  Station  to  get 
the  Evangelistic  Board  of  the  Native  Church  to  as- 
sume responsibility  for  the  use  of  the  funds  set  apart 
by  the  Station  for  native  preachers  and  evangelists,  and 
then  he  added : — 

Along  the  whole  line  we  are  having  a  period  of  quiet 
progress.  Just  at  present  there  is  nothing  to  disturb  the 
peace  of  our  churches.  The  head  of  the  Russian  Mission 
here  has  returned  to  Russia,  and  it  is  not  fully  known 
what  will  be  their  next  step.  Mr.  Coan  has  been  absent, 
touring  the  mountain  field  in  Turkey.  On  his  way  from 
Gawar  to  Bashkalla  bis  camp  was  attacked  by  Kurds  one 
night,  and  one-  of  the  gendarmes  furnished  him  by  the  Turk- 
ish government  was  killed,  and  three  horses  belonging  to 
the  gendarmes  and  Dr.  Alexander  were  taken.  Fortunately 
none  of  our  party  were  wounded,  notwithstanding  a  number 
of  shots  were  exchanged.  The  movement  threatened  by  the 
Roman  Catholics  of  occupying  so  many  places  among  the 
mountain  Nestorians  bas  fallen  through,  so  that  the  pros- 
pects for  work  there  are  brighter  than  tbey  were  a  few 
months  ago.  The  very  great  poverty,  however,  together  with 
the  increasing  oppressions  of  the  Kurds  and  the  tightening 
grip  of  tbe  Turk,  makes  missionary  work  there  very  difficult. 

It  is  with  regret  that  our  appropriations  are  so  limited 
for  the  work  of  the  press  as  well  as  in  the  other  depart- 
ments, while  the  outlook  for  the  completion  of  the  Syriac 
Lexicon  and  the  Concordance  is  not  encouraging.  For  the 
past  month  we  have  been  trying  very  hard,  in  view  of  the 
insufficiency  of  our  appropriation,  to  close  the  hospital,  which 
has  been  no  easy  task,  for  the  sick  will  not  all  get  well  at 
one  time,  and  while  there  are  a  few  patients  in  the  hos- 
pital, it  is  very  hard  to  convince  others  that  they  cannot 
be  received  as  well.  Daily  tbere  are  patients  coming  who 


232  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

offer  to  provide  everything  if  they  will  only  be  admitted, 
but  even  when  they  do  board  themselves,  as  a  number  are 
doing  at  present,  we  are  not  entirely  free  from  expense  for 
them,  for  they  are  sure  to  borrow  more  or  less,  and  the  fuel 
and  oil  and  food  of  one  kind  and  another  will  never  be 
returned.  So,  too,  when  any  one  is  in  the  hospital  on  any 
conditions,  we  often  have  some  come  who  are  penniless,  and 
yet  who  are  in  such  absolute  need  of  what  a  hospital  can 
do  for  them  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to  turn  them  away, 
simply  because  they  cannot  pay,  when  we  have  this  plant 
here — the  buildings,  the  assistants,  and  some  of  the  servants. 
Yesterday  five  Kurds  arrived  from  the  region  between 
Amadia  and  Mosul.  The  long  and  perilous  journey  has 
been  made,  they  have  been  twenty-five  days  on  the  way, 
and  have  reached  here  with  about  two  dollars  in  cash. 
Three  of  them  are  very  seriously  ill.  Some  of  them  old 
chronic  cases;  but  they  had  heard  that  this  institution  re- 
ceived people  of  all  nationalities  and  creeds,  and  that  the 
poor  could  find  treatment  as  well  as  the  rich.  It  requires 
a  very  stony  heart  to  close  the  doors  to  people  from  such 
a  distance.  They  say  that  their  one  aim  has  been  to  reach 
here  alive,  thinking  that  if  they  only  got  here  their  troubles 
would  be  at  end,  that  they  never  dreamed  of  the  possibility 
of  coming  and  not  being  received.  I  am  keeping  them  a 
few  days  while  I  see  if  I  can  get  the  Kurds  in  a  neighbouring 
village  to  take  them  into  their  mosque,  as  they  often  will 
do  for  strangers,  and  then  they  can  come  to  us  for  medicines, 
and  beg  for  their  bread. 

When  one  is  discouraged,  nothing  is  a  better  antidote  to 
such  a  condition  than  to  go  out  to  one  of  our  larger  churches 
of  a  Sabbath  day.  Here  the  benefits  of  the  Gospel  in  this 
land  are  clearly  and  unmistakably  seen.  To  me  it  is  a 
source  of  great  encouragement  and  inspiration  to  look  upon 
one  of  these  congregations — the  people  dressed  in  their  best — 
among  the  women  white  predominating  as  to  colour.  In 
front  of  the  pulpit  platform,  and  usually  upon  the  floors,  are 
the  children  of  the  church.  The  school  teacher  is  often 
seated  with  them  to  lead  in  the  singing  and  to  make  these 
pupils  the  choir  for  the  church  as  well  as  to  see  that  they 
are  behaving  with  propriety.  The  women,  with  their  infants 
in  arms,  on  one  side  of  the  church,  and  on  the  other  the 


233 

men.  Some  of  our  churches  are  seated,  but  in  most  the 
people  sit  upon  the  mats  which  carpet  the  floor.  The  atten- 
tion given  to  the  speaker  is  as  close  and  good  as  you  see 
it  anywhere.  In  the  Sabbath  school,  a  prominent  place 
is  given  to  the  recitation  of  verses  from  the  Scriptures,  and 
the  old  as  well  as  the  young  take  very  evident  satisfaction 
in  studying  and  discussing  the  lessons.  Then  if  you  visit 
the  homes  of  many  of  these  people  you  will  again  realize 
what  God  hath  wrought  for  this  nation  through  His  Gospel. 
Cleanliness,  quiet  orderliness,  piety,  love,  and  happiness, 
where  formerly  these  homes  were  dirty,  noisy,  disorderly, 
impious,  quarrelsome,  and  more  commonly  than  not,  miser- 
able and  unhappy.  Every  one  of  this  generation,  and  many 
of  the  older  people  are  readers  now,  so  that  you  will  see  an 
assortment  of  books  in  all  these  homes. 

We  have  a  power  in  our  churches,  even  if  it  be  lying 
more  or  less  latent  at  present.  What  we  all  desire  is  to  so 
direct  this  power  as  to  make  it  felt  outside,  both  to  the 
Christian  and  to  the  non-Christian  population  of  this  whole 
land.  I  believe  our  people  are  waking  up  more  and  more 
to  the  duty  and  privilege  of  proclaiming  this  Gospel  to  those 
who  have  not  heard  it.  I  shall  not  be  surprised  if  we  soon 
see  the  Church  here  take  a  concerted  and  forward  step  in 
the  direction  of  a  more  systematic  effort  to  labour  for 
others  after  having  so  freely  received  these  blessings  them- 
selves. 

This  winter  he  organized  a  little  medical  society 
among  the  doctors,  most  of  whom  had  received  their 
training  from  him,  but  some  of  whom  had  studied 
in  Europe  or  America.  They  met  each  fortnight  in 
the  city  in  his  office  there.  He  was  president,  and 
at  the  first  meeting  made  an  inaugural  address  on 
"  The  progress  of  medicine  during  the  past  year." 
There  were  twelve  doctors  present.  At  other  meetings 
he  spoke  on  "  Diphtheria  Antitoxin,"  and  on  "  Rontgen 
Rays  and  other  manipulations  of  electricity."  He  was 
ever  trying  to  spread  knowledge,  and  at  the  homes  of 
his  patients,  the  Khans  and  officials,  he  was  constantly 


234  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

expected  to  tell  what  was  going  on  in  the  world,  and 
what  new  discoveries  and  inventions  had  been  made. 
There  were  no  newspapers,  and  he  was  not  only  a 
doctor  and  a  missionary,  but  also  a  public  teacher.  It 
was  all  hard  work,  and  the  hospital  and  the  general 
wretchedness  and  want  wore  on  his  heart.  "  I  should 
like  to  have  heard  and  seen  Joe  Jefferson,"  he  wrote. 
"  Often  nights  when  I  am  too  tired  to  feel  like  doing 
much,  I  wish  there  was  something  in  the  way  of  enter- 
tainment and  entirely  apart  from  my  work  that  I 
could  do.  Friday  night  all  of  us  were  very  tired,  and 
after  the  children  had  gone  to  bed,  we  sat  down  in  the 
parlour  and  heard  some  twenty  new  gramophone 
pieces.  They  were  very  good  indeed." 

Some  extracts  from  his  letters  and  reports  will  show 
his  activities  and  amusements  and  experiences : — 

MAY  12th,  1901. — Last  week  I  did  not  get  off  a  letter,  as 
I  was  in  Salinas  for  five  days  attending  the  Sheikh  ul  Islam 
and  a  merchant,  an  Armenian,  in  Kalasar.  It  was  as  usual 
quite  a  tiresome  trip,  for  it  meant  seeing  people  from 
daybreak  to  midnight,  and  being  company  all  of  the  time. 
The  only  rest  was  the  afternoon  nap,  which  I  prolonged 
as  much  as  possible,  spending  a  part  of  this  time  in  reading. 

JUNE  8th. — Thursday  we  had  Professor  and  Mrs.  Margo- 
liouth,  and  the  English  Mission  to  dinner.  They  are  very 
interesting  people  and  good  company. 

SEPTEMBER  14th. — The  city  has  been  in  a  state  of  unrest, 
to  say  the  least,  for  the  past  few  weeks.  The  ecclesiastics 
have  been  opposed  to  the  Governor  and  particularly  to  the 
officer  in  charge  of  the  local  revenues  and  taxes.  They  have 
been  demanding  that  the  latter  be  deposed,  but  the  Prince 
has  upheld  him,  and  has  tried  to  force  those  who  were 
against  him  to  withdraw  their  charges,  and  accept  him. 
There  have  been  many  large  gatherings  of  all  classes  of 
people  for  and  against.  Orders  have  been  received  by  the 
Governor  to  arrest  some  of  these  leading  mullahs,  and  send 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         235 

them  to  Tabriz,  but  they  replied  that  they  were  not  the 
servants  of  the  government,  and  that  they  would  do  as  they 
liked  about  accepting  such  an  invitation.  There  were  three 
important  mullahs  on  the  side  of  the  Governor,  and  they 
sent  around  to  the  merchants  to  secure  promises  from  them 
that  they  would  not  close  the  bazars  at  the  command  of 
the  other  mullahs,  and  did  get  many  to  so  promise.  The 
other  party  being  pressed  to  go  to  Tabriz  gave  out  that 
they  were  willing  to  do  so  at  the  command  of  their  King. 
They  hired  a  lot  of  horses  and  mules,  loaded  them  with 
journey  goods,  and  had  their  own  horses  saddled,  with  their 
servants  mounted,  and  had  them  paraded  through  the  prin- 
cipal streets  and  bazars.  This  created  such  an  interest  in 
the  abused  mullahs  that  the  town  rallied  to  their  side,  ordered 
the  bazars  closed,  and  challenged  the  government  to  turn 
them  out  of  town  if  they  could.  This  now  necessitated  a 
change  of  front,  so  the  Tabriz  authorities  sent  word  that 
they  had  forgiven  and  forgotten  the  offence  of  these  mullahs, 
and  that  they  were  not  required  in  Tabriz;  also  their  re- 
quest that  the  officer  of  the  revenues  be  dismissed  was 
granted.  He  has  now  been  sent  to  Tabriz.  To-day  the 
mullahs  are  still  in  arms,  demanding  that  his  whole  house, 
his  brother,  and  his  sons  all  leave  the  city  and  the  country 
never  to  return.  They  are  threatening  to  loot  his  house 
to-night  unless  a  promise  is  given  to  leave.  I  presume  the 
Governor  will  have  to  leave  too.  He  has  been  here  but  a 
short  time.  There  is  quite  a  little  disturbance  along  the 
Turkish  frontier.  The  Turks  have  occupied  a  number  of 
villages  to  the  west  of  Ararat,  belonging  to  Persia,  also 
some  on  the  plain  of  Baradost. 

We  have  had  more  cases  than  usual  of  leprosy  under 
treatment.  They  have  been  kept  in  the  hospital  for  a  few 
days,  and  then  have  continued  treatment  at  home.  One 
family,  most  of  the  members  of  which  are  leprous,  came 
from  Turkey.  This  Memmad  Beg  is  from  the  noted  family 
of  the  great  chief,  Nurallah  Beg,  who  led  the  massacre 
against  the  Christians  in  1840.  This  man,  however,  has 
been  a  friend  of  the  Christians  about  him,  and  has  fre- 
quently rendered  service  to  the  missionaries  when  in  his 
district.  His  wife's  brother  eloped  many  years  ago  with  a 
Christian  girl,  who  has  never,  however,  become  Moslem. 


236  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

She  has  taught  many  Kurds  the  Syriac  language,  and  reads 
the  Scriptures  to  them  frequently,  and  urges  their  accept- 
ance of  them.  The  faith  exhibited  by  this  chief  in  coming 
to  us  touched  us  all,  and  made  it  even  more  difficult  to  tell 
him  the  hopelessness  of  his  condition.  Some  of  the  other 
members  of  the  family  were  in  the  early  stages  of  the  disease, 
and  may  derive  some  benefit  from  treatment.  Memmad 
Beg  cited  the  case  of  Naaman  coming  to  God's  prophet. 
He  quoted  passage  after  passage  of  Scripture,  showing  how 
Christ  taught  that  unto  him  who  had  faith  all  things  would 
be  given.  He  urged  that  he  had  come  with  unwavering 
faith  to  the  representatives  of  Christ,  and  all  that  remained 
was  for  us  to  use  the  means  which  Christ  had  given  us, 
and  he  and  his  household  would  return  rejoicing  in  complete 
recovery. 

Another  Kurd  came  with  very  much  the  same  faith,  and 
insisted  that  we  could  cure  him,  since  we  were  working  in 
Christ's  name,  and  doing  all  for  His  sake,  and  since  he 
came  believing  in  Christ's  power  to  heal.  .  .  .  He  was  very 
much  helped,  and  he  gave  all  the  honour  and  praise  to 
Christ.  While  here  he  enjoyed  the  Sabbath  services  as  well 
as  all  the  religious  exercises  and  conversations,  and  has 
taken  a  Testament  home  with  him. 

Another  Mohammedan  patient  who  manifested  a  good  deal 
of  interest  in  Christianity  was  a  young  Persian  Khan  from 
Teheran,  who  was  sent  to  the  hospital  this  summer  by  the 
Governor  of  Souj  Bulak,  and  was  under  treatment  about  a 
month. 

The  Crown  Prince,  who  became  Shah  and  was  de- 
posed in  1909,  made  a  visit  to  Urumia  in  November, 
1901,  of  which  Dr.  Cochran  wrote  an  entertaining 
account : — 

NOVEMBER  20th,  1901. — Urumia  has  just  been  favoured 
with  a  visit  from  His  Royal  Highness,  Mohammed  Ali 
Mirza,  Crown  Prince  of  Persia.  Tabriz  is  the  residence  of 
the  Crown  Prince,  and  has  been  for  many  years  back,  but 
this  is  the  first  time  that  His  Royal  Highness  has  come 
here.  This  young  man,  who  is  about  twenty-five  years  old, 
is  an  active,  wide-awake  prince  who  is  fond  of  the  hunt 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         237 

and  of  travel.  His  visit  here  was  made  probably  for  the 
pleasure  of  the  outing,  for  the  sake  of  seeing  this  part  of 
the  Province  over  which  he  is  Governor,  and  for  the  sake 
also  of  adding  to  his  treasury.  In  the  cities  along  the 
line  of  his  route  it  is  expected  that  all  the  higher  military 
officers,  all  the  wealthy  land  owners,  and  the  merchants  and 
Moslem  ecclesiastics  will  make  a  present  to  him,  according 
to  their  station  and  ability.  If  by  chance  any  one  of  these 
gives  less  than  His  Royal  Highness  deems  necessary,  he 
will  signify  his  displeasure  by  returning  it,  when  more 
will  have  to  be  added  to  the  gift,  free-will  offering  as  it 
is  called.  In  this  way  his  revenue  is  materially  increased 
as  he  travels  about,  while  his  expenses  are  paid  by  the  state 
or  the  private  citizens  along  the  way.  He  had  with  him 
about  1,500  attendants.  These  included  his  secretaries,  a 
few  of  the  higher  office  holders  at  his  court,  the  retinues 
which  officers  always  have  of  their  own,  two  or  three  com- 
panies of  cavalry,  and  as  many  more  infantry.  He  brought, 
too,  his  chief  wife,  a  daughter  of  his  uncle,  together  with 
her  two  young  sons,  and  five  eunuchs,  and  many  maids. 
He  himself,  as  well  as  his  wife  and  children,  and  the  ladies 
in  attendance  upon  her,  and  the  chief  officers,  rode  in  car- 
riages, having  their  horses  along  so  that  they  could  ride 
them  wherever  the  wheeling  was  not  good.  Carpets  and 
bedding,  furniture,  and  many  changes  of  raiment,  together 
with  everything  pertaining  to  the  cooking  department  of  the 
Prince  and  his  officers,  as  well  as  table  service,  was  packed 
on  mules  and  horses  and  camels.  Had  it  been  warmer  tents 
would  have  been  brought,  and  all  would  have  occupied  them 
rather  than  finding  quarters  in  the  poor  houses  in  the  villages 
and  in  the  cities.  Here  in  Urumia,  as  well  as  in  two  or 
three  other  stopping  places  in  the  tour  around  the  Lake  he 
found  as  good  houses  as  he  required.  All  of  the  leading 
officers,  military  and  civil,  of  this  place,  together  with  an 
escort  of  cavalry  and  artillery,  went  out  a  day's  journey 
to  meet  him.  About  six  miles  out  of  town,  tents  had  been 
provided  for  the  foreigners,  and  for  the  chief  merchants. 
Here  the  local  Governor  for  the  Christians  and  Jews  pre- 
sented all  who  had  come  out  to  His  Royal  Highness.  Rep- 
resentatives of  our  Mission,  the  English,  French,  and  Rus- 
sian Missions  were  ready  to  meet  him  before  the  cannon 


238  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

sounded  his  start  from  the  lunching  station  a  few  miles 
up  the  road.  We  had  met  the  harem,  the  Princess  in  a 
covered  carriage  drawn  by  six  horses,  and  her  attendants 
in  other  carriages  drawn  by  four,  with  a  mounted  escort,  when 
we  first  left  the  city.  After  being  presented,  Dr.  Labaree 
and  I  mounted  our  horses,  and  taking  a  shorter  way  into 
town,  reached  our  city  premises  before  the  Crown  Prince 
arrived  at  our  gate  of  the  city.  This  gate  was  gaily  deco- 
rated with  expensive  shawls,  bunting,  carpets,  pictures,  look- 
ing-glasses, candelabra,  etc.  So,  too,  the  buildings  along 
the  street,  including  our  city  premises,  were  festooned  and 
decorated.  The  private  residences  where  he  and  his  imme- 
diate attendants  were  to  establish  themselves  were  near  ours. 
The  other  noted  men  were  divided  around  among  the  noble- 
men of  the  city.  For  about  a  mile  outside  the  city  wall  the 
road  was  lined  with  men,  women,  and  children  to  witness 
the  royal  procession.  Probably  TJrumia  was  never  so  com- 
pletely emptied  before.  Cannon  stationed  along  the  route 
from  his  lunching  place  to  the  palace  which  he  occupied 
announced  his  progress.  He  himself  rode  in  about  the 
middle  of  the  long  caravan.  Not  far  ahead  of  him  was  an 
escort  of  cavalry,  then  came  a  mounted  band,  playing  better 
than  anything  we  are  accustomed  to  hear  here.  Some  dis- 
tance ahead  of  him  a  band  riding  on  camels  had  also  passed. 
The  musical  instruments  used  by  these  musicians  were  of 
the  old  Persian  style.  After  the  mounted  band  came  a  large 
escort  of  military  officers  in  full-dress  uniforms,  then  ten 
mounted  men  in  Cossack  uniform,  bearing  spears  with 
banners  streaming  from  the  upper  end.  The  Crown  Prince's 
carriage  was  drawn  by  six  horses.  Only  royalty  is  allowed 
the  privilege  of  having  six  horses  attached  to  its  carriages. 
Behind  the  carriage  rode  the  Prince  Governor  of  TJrumia 
on  horseback,  and  he  was  followed  by  all  the  remaining 
carriages  in  the  caravan  with  their  escorts.  As  is  customary 
here  every  class  of  people  coming  out  in  a  body  to  meet  him 
either  offered  him  a  present  or  offered  a  sheep  which  was 
killed  just  as  he  approached  the  offering.  The  next  morn- 
ing after  His  Royal  Highness's  arrival  he  sent  for  Dr. 
Miller  and  myself  to  call  on  his  wife.  With  his  chief 
Moslem  physician  we  went  first  into  his  presence,  and  then 
he  took  us  into  the  ladies'  apartments.  Both  in  his  own 


239 

room  and  in  the  ladies'  he  offered  seats  to  Dr.  Miller  and 
myself  while  every  one  else  stood  in  his  apartments,  and 
for  a  time  in  the  inner  apartments.  After  this  general 
consultation  I  was  invited  to  see  the  Princess  every  day, 
and  almost  always  I  had  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  Prince 
also.  At  our  first  visit  he  said  that  he  wished  to  call  the 
next  day  on  us  and  see  the  college  and  hospital.  We  put 
everything  in  the  best  order  possible,  and  were  at  the  outside 
gate  of  the  compound  ready  to  meet  him  as  he  drove  up, 
accompanied  by  one  hundred  horsemen  and  several  noble- 
men in  carriages.  We  had  lined  up  all  the  college  students 
on  either  side  of  the  avenue  that  leads  between  the  hospital 
and  college  to  our  house.  From  either  side  the  students 
made  a  profound  bow  and  threw  a  bouquet  of  flowers  at  his 
feet  as  the  Prince  came  opposite  each  couple.  A  few  officers 
led  the  way  before  him,  and  Dr.  Labaree  and  I  walked  on 
either  side,  as  I  had  to  explain  things  to  him,  and  introduce 
him  to  the  students  and  teachers,  etc.  All  of  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Station  were  at  the  gate  to  meet  him,  and  accompanied 
him  down  to  our  house,  where  he  alone  sat  in  a  chair  at 
the  head  of  the  room  and  drank  a  cup  of  tea,  which  his 
taster  had  first  sipped,  while  he  asked  many  questions  about 
our  work  and  about  our  country,  etc.  As  soon  as  he  had 
taken  his  tea  we  went  up  to  the  college  chapel,  where  again 
every  one  but  himself  stood.  Our  Persian  Mirza  made  a 
statement  of  the  course  of  studies,  and  a  young  man  read 
an  address  of  welcome  prepared  by  the  Persian  teacher; 
another  young  man  read  a  little  English,  and  they  all  sang 
in  Syriac.  Then  we  went  up  to  the  hospital.  We  passed 
through  some  of  the  rooms,  showing  how  the  sick  were 
cared  for,  and  then  he  went  into  the  operating  room,  where 
we  had  made  a  fine  display  of  all  of  our  instruments.  He 
stayed  in  this  room  about  half  an  hour,  examining  everything 
closely.  Some  of  these  instruments  reminded  him  of  some 
of  his  own  ailments,  and  so  he  asked  all  to  go  out  but  his 
physician  and  myself,  when  he  described  his  symptoms  and 
asked  for  treatment.  After  going  up  to  the  office  and  drug- 
room  we  escorted  him  to  the  gate  again,  and  he  rode  off. 
He  gave  fifty  dollars  to  the  college,  and  a  fine  shawl  to  me 
as  he  was  leaving  the  city.  He  was  very  much  pleased  with 
the  address  that  the  Persian  teacher  had  written,  and  asked 


240  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

for  a  copy  of  it  to  incorporate  it  into  his  diary  of  the  tour. 
When  our  Mirza  took  it  to  him  he  told  him  he  wished  to 
give  him  a  title,  which  he  did :  "  The  Tongue  of  the  Pres- 
ence "  literally,  or  the  spokesman  to  His  Majesty  and  to  His 
Royal  Highness.  This  was  a  special  favour  because  it  came 
without  solicitation  and  purchase  as  most  titles  in  this 
country  do,  and  because  the  Prince  sealed  it  himself,  and 
delivered  it  to  the  Mirza  with  his  own  hand.  The  scribe 
of  the  Prince  wished  to  write  out  the  order  for  the  title  in 
an  outer  room,  but  His  Royal  Highness  commanded  that 
he  do  it  on  his  feet  in  his  presence,  and  giving  it  himself, 
even  this  scribe  got  nothing  for  his  pains.  A  shawl  was 
given  to  each  of  the  two  doctors  who  went  with  us  to  see 
the  Princess,  Drs.  Isaac  and  Israel  Khan. 

DECEMBER  18th. — Whatever  the  Russian  Church  does  in 
Persia,  and  it  is  likely  to  do  more  and  not  less  than  it  has 
already  done,  political  Russia  is  tightening  its  hold  upon 
the  country  and  the  government.  The  railroad  to  Eriyan 
is  now  completed,  and  the  contracts  for  work  on  to  Julfa 
are  being  given.  In  eastern  Persia,  along  the  Afghan 
border,  there  are  railroads  planned,  and  even  on  the  Persian 
Gulf  the  Russians  are  more  or  less  active,  but  where  their 
influence  and  power  is  felt  the  most  is  through  their  repre- 
sentatives at  the  court  in  Teheran  and  in  the  larger  cities, 
and  in  the  loans  which  they  make  to  them. 

APRIL  6th,  1902.— Haji  Shaffee  Khan,  the  Beglerbeg,  died 
yesterday  at  seven;  Dr.  Isaac  was  there  with  him.  An  hour 
or  more  later,  the  Prince  sent  a  man  recommending  that 
they  bleed  him.  It  was  done,  and  the  report  taken  to  the 
Prince  (the  Governor)  that  the  blood  had  spurted  out,  and 
consequently  that  he  must  be  alive.  So  I  was  sent  for  to 
settle  the  question.  I  found  the  room  where  he  lay  packed 
with  women;  his  wife  was  especially  boisterous,  tearing  her 
hair  and  crying  in  a  very  loud  voice.  His  sister,  the  chief 
heir,  was  wild  with  joy  that  he  had  died.  I  was  scarcely 
safe  in  that  bedlam,  for  they  began  to  call  out,  "  Why  did 
you  not  save  him  ?  "  "  What  kind  of  a  doctor  are  you  ?  "  etc. 
He  had  been  sick  but  two  days  with  paralysis  of  the  cord, 
which  finally  affected  his  respiration  and  brought  the  end. 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         241 

JUNE  3rd. — I  have  been  back  from  Tabriz  a  little  over  a 
week.  I  was  there  ten  days,  being  called  to  do  an  operation 
on  Mr.  Wilson  for  appendicitis.  I  went,  and  returned  as 
fast  as  my  horses  could  carry  me,  losing  no  time  on  the 
road.  We  are  all  very  grateful  to  see  Mr.  Wilson  con- 
valescent and  once  more  out  of  danger.  It  was  a  great  rush 
while  there,  for,  as  usual  in  this  country,  the  arrival  of  a 
new  doctor  brings  much  in  the  way  of  medical  work  and 
consultations  with  the  Europeans  and  European  practising 
physicians.  The  Crown  Prince  and  his  chief  wife  took 
some  of  my  time  too,  so  that  that  visit  and  the  catching 
up  in  the  work  here  has  been  somewhat  absorbing  and  press- 
ing, but  things  will  assume  their  usual  routine  soon.  We 
have  a  good  deal  that  is  interesting  in  the  hospital  just  now. 

JUNE  21st. — It  has  been  Commencement  week  here,  and 
after  the  graduation  exercises  came  the  Alumni  meetings, 
which  lasted  a  day.  I  had  one  of  the  addresses,  so  that  I 
had  to  give  a  good  deal  of  time  to  preparation.  "Perfect 
Manliness  "  was  the  subject  given  to  me. 

In  July,  1902,  he  made  his  last  visit  to  Russia,  where 
Mr.  Clement  and  his  family  spent  some  happy  weeks 
with  him  at  his  sister's,  Mrs.  Ponafidine's,  and  then 
returned  to  Urumia  for  the  work  in  the  fall. 

SEPTEMBER  30th. — After  the  medical  work  the  one  that  has 
occupied  the  most  of  my  time  the  past  year  .has  been  diwan 
work.  This  work  becomes  more  and  more  of  a  burden,  since 
the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  courts  are  avowedly  doing  business, 
more  and  more,  for  the  money  that  can  be  procured  from  it 
rather  than  to  redress  wrongs.  It,  nevertheless,  seems  neces- 
sary to  take  the  time  to  listen  to  the  oppressions  of  our  people, 
whether  any  active  effort  to  obtain  redress  is  made  or  not. 
Assistance  can  sometimes  be  given,  but  often  all  that  we  can 
do  is  to  show  our  sympathy,  and  let  the  cases  go  through  the 
usual  process  of  the  courts.  As  a  member  of  the  Legal 
Board  of  our  Church,  the  better  part  of  one  day  every  other 
week  is  given  to  the  arbitration  of  questions  arising  among 
our  constituency.  The  work  of  this  Board  is,  on  the  whole, 


242  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

quite  helpful  to  our  Church,  as  it  often  settles  in  a  just 
and  satisfactory  manner  cases  that  would  otherwise  go  to 
the  corrupt  courts  for  settlement.  Some  time  every  week 
has  been  devoted  to  social  calls  among  those  in  authority 
here. 

DECEMBER  28th. — I  think  Russia  is  going  to  push  into 
Persia  with  its  commerce,  if  nothing  else,  as  rapidly  as 
possible.  They  have  opened  an  agency  here  for  express 
packages,  and  are  preparing  to  open  a  bank.  They  have 
done  so  in  Tabriz  as  a  rival  to  the  English  Imperial  Bank. 
A  new  Belgian  has  come  to  Tabriz  to  be  at  the  head  of  the 
post-office  department  in  Azerbaijan.  We  will  see  what  he 
will  do.  There  is  a  new  issue  of  stamps  at  last,  after  using 
these  provisional  for  more  than  half  a  year. 

It  is  blowing  hard  and  cold — a  good  night  for  thieves. 
This  reminds  me  of  the  trouble  that  the  Checklui  people 
are  in.  Last  summer  they  caught  a  Moslem  thief  in  their 
vineyards,  and  took  him  to  the  master.  Day  before  yester- 
day he  died.  The  friends  immediately  went  to  law,  to  re- 
cover blood  money,  claiming  that  this  man  had  died  of  the 
effects  of  the  fright  he  had  when  caught  three  or  four 
months  ago.  He  is  a  man  whom  I  have  been  treating  off  and 
on  this  fall  for  other  difficulties  than  those  brought  on  by 
fright.  The  Governor's  men  and  the  Sarparast's  (governor 
for  the  Christians)  went  out  to  the  village,  and  it  was  re- 
ported that  they  were  laying  waste  the  village,  and  that  the 
Moslems  from  neighbouring  villages  were  present  with  bags 
in  hand  to  plunder.  The  head  of  the  Russian  Mission,  with 
two  or  three  Nestorians,  went  out  there  late  yesterday  after- 
noon. I  have  not  learned  what  they  saw  and  heard;  I  am 
glad  they  went,  though  I  should  not  do  it. 

PAYAJUK,  SALMAS,  January  20th,  1903. — A  week  ago  I  was 
called  over  here  to  see  two  brothers,  Armenian  merchants, 
who  have  been  shot  by  revolutionists  that  were  set  apart  to 
do  it  by  their  chief.  One  of  them  is  shot  through  the  abdo- 
men on  the  right  side.  The  ball  penetrated  the  large  intes- 
tine, and  has  scratched  the  lower  edge  of  the  liver  and  the 
surface  of  the  kidney,  coming  out  in  the  loin,  in  the  region 
of  the  kidney.  The  younger  brother  is  shot  through  the 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         243 

shoulder  joint.  Both  are  doing  as  well  as  can  be  expected. 
The  latter  is  sure  to  recover,  and  I  hope  with  pretty  good 
use  of  the  arm,  but  it  is  quite  uncertain  as  to  the  former. 
I  reached  here  fifty  hours  after  the  accident,  and  it  did  not 
seem  wise  to  operate,  with  a  view  to  closing  the  intestine, 
because  the  man  looked  as  if  he  could  live  but  a  few  hours, 
and  gangrene  of  certain  parts  had  set  in.  He  is,  however, 
getting  a  little  better  every  hour,  and  the  inflammation  is 
becoming  localized,  so  that  now,  although  the  contents  of 
the  bowels  are  evacuated  from  the  posterior  wound,  I  think 
I  can  remedy  that  difficulty  after  a  month  or  so  if  he  survives 
the  shock  he  has  been  through.  These  revolutionists  have 
been  the  means  of  the  greatest  losses  to  this  plain.  In  the 
past  seven  years  it  is  estimated  that  they  have  killed  openly 
and  secretly,  and  hidden  or  buried,  not  less  than  two  hun- 
dred Armenians.  The  miserable  government  is  more  than 
glad  to  have  them  do  these  things,  for  it  gives  them  the 
chance  to  make  a  lot  of  money,  always  coming  from  the 
innocent  people  in  the  villages. 

PATAJUK,  SALMAS,  February  2nd. — As  you  see,  I  am  over 
here  again.  I  have  operated  on  the  man  with  the  perfora- 
tions of  the  intestines,  and  if  he  can  only  live  through  the 
exhaustion  that  he  has  had,  and  which  has  increased  since 
the  operation,  the  wounds  will  be  all  right,  but  he  is  very 
low.  The  other  brother,  whose  shoulder  joint  is  affected,  is 
also  a  badly  wounded  man.  Dr.  Shlimun  and  I  have  been 
very  anxious.  The  operation  was  a  most  difficult  one  to 
get  the  perforations  in  view  sufficiently  to  enable  us  to  see 
them,  and  then  to  get  at  them  to  sew  them.  There  were 
such  adhesions  that  we  could  not  draw  the  intestines  out 
of  the  abdominal  cavity,  as  is  the  rule,  and  operate  outside. 
I  hope  to  go  back  in  two  or  three  days  whether  the  patient 
lives  or  dies.  I  am  sorry  not  to  be  at  home  on  Joseph's  birth- 
day. I  begin  to  realize  that  I  have  not  much  longer  with 
Harry,  and  then  the  worst  of  it  is  that,  after  he  goes,  who 
can  tell  when  or  how  much  I  shall  see  him  again.  The 
people  at  whose  house  I  am  staying  have  three  or  four  very 
good  horses.  They  have  also  a  lot  of  cows  and  buffalo-cows, 
so  that  their  milk  and  cream  and  mesta  are  plentiful.  They 
own  about  one-half  of  the  land  of  this  village,  consequently 


244  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

they  are  wealthy  farmers,  as  well  as  raisin  and  almond 
merchants.  They  have  just  shipped  80,000  pounds  of  raisins 
to  London.  The  brothers  are  great  hunters,  too;  they  have 
a  lot  of  guns  of  all  descriptions — rifles  mostly,  but  good  shot- 
guns and  revolvers  as  well — a  regular  arsenal.  Two  of  them 
will  pass  many  a  day  before  they  go  hunting  again.  One 
of  them  will  perhaps  never  leave  his  bed.  It  was  a  cold 
journey  coming  over;  I  hope  it  will  moderate  before  I  return. 

MARCH  1st. — Yesterday  I  saw,  for  the  last  time,  an  old 
Moslem  doctor,  who  was  a  very  intelligent  and  pleasant  man, 
and  one  who  thought  a  great  deal  about  the  more  weighty 
matters  in  life,  and  often  wished  to  talk  about  the  future 
life.  He  has  been  sick  for  some  ten  days,  but  only  told 
me  yesterday,  when  I  found  him  nearly  gone  with  dysentery. 
He  was  seventy  years  old. 

MARCH  30th. — I  think  that  I  wrote  you  that  one  of  the 
Armenians  of  S  almas  whom  I  treated  died.  The  other,  the 
one  with  the  wounded  shoulder,  has  come  over  here  now  for 
treatment.  His  joint  is  very  stiff,  but  I  think  we  can  fix 
him  up  in  time.  I  performed  another  operation  to-day  on 
the  kidney  of  a  man,  opening  it,  and  removing  stones  from 
it,  and  a  lot  of  accumulated  pus.  He  is  doing  well.  Did 
I  tell  you  that  Kasha  Oshana  sees  very  well  with  the  eye 
that  I  last  operated  on?  I  am  so  glad  for  the  old  man. 

APRIL  5th. — This  has  been  a  hard  day,  for  I  rushed  all  I 
could  to  see  the  hospital  patients  early,  and  get  to  Degala 
with  Kasha  Isaac  to  see  if  we  could  settle  their  quarrel 
at  last.  As  you  know,  it  has  been  going  on  for  some  weeks, 
and  a  great  deal  of  effort  and  pains  have  been  expended  in 
righting  the  matter,  but  so  far  it  has  been  to  no  real  pur- 
pose, or  at  least  it  has  brought  the  case  to  no  satisfactory 
termination. 

MAY  9th. — Things  are  in  a  pretty  stormy  condition  up 
in  Tergawar.  I  went  up  there  last  week.  Two  or  three 
days  before  five  Nestorians  from  Balulan  had  gone  up  to  a 
sheepfold  in  the  valley  which  lies  between  the  villages  of 
Umbi  and  Balulan,  which  has  been  used  by  the  Kurdish 
Begs  of  the  former  village.  The  Nestorians  tore  it  down, 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         245 

claiming  that  the  Begs  had  no  right  to  it.  The  shepherd 
told  one  of  the  chiefs,  who  went  down  with  him  to  the  spot, 
but  the  Syrians  fired  on  him.  He  returned  the  fire,  and 
soon,  from  both  villages,  there  was  quite  a  crowd  that  joined 
the  fray.  At  quite  a  distance  from  both  these  firing  parties 
was  a  company  of  Kurdish  children  watching  the  fight. 
One  of  the  Syrians  fired  at  right  angles  from  the  direction 
in  which  the  opposing  Kurds  were,  and  his  bullet  entered  the 
knee  of  the  late  Hessu  Beg's  youngest  son,  a  boy  of  thirteen 
years.  So  far  the  fault  was  wholly  on  the  Syrian  side. 
The  sheepfold  they  had  no  right  to,  and  they  should  not 
have  fired  at  this  crowd  of  children  who  were  merely  looking 
on.  I  removed  the  bullet,  but  the  knee-joint  is  likely  to  be 
more  or  less  stiff  always.  The  Kurds  were  very  much  en- 
raged, both  because  it  seemed  so  unnecessary,  and  because 
this  particular  young  chief  is  held  in  great  love  and  rever- 
ence. There  were  assembled  there  not  less  than  300  Kurds, 
all  ready  to  make  an  attack  on  Balulan,  and  avenge  them- 
selves. I  argued  with  them,  hoping  they  would  refer  the 
matter  to  the  authorities,  and  not  go  to  war  themselves,  for 
it  would  only  result  in  bloodshed,  and  make  it  more  difficult 
to  come  to  an  understanding.  The  older  chiefs  promised  to 
scatter  the  Kurds  and  wait  to  see  what  the  Salar  would  do, 
but  the  young  men  vowed  that  fight  and  death  were  better 
than  serfdom!  As  soon  as  we  were  well  off  a  couple  of 
hundred  attacked  Balulan,  and  fought  till  midnight.  They 
succeeded  in  entering  three  houses,  which  they  looted  and 
burned,  together  with  the  stables.  One  of  these  happened 
to  be  our  Kasha's  house.  His  house  was  on  the  edge  of  the 
village ;  but  the  Kurds  lost  four  killed  and  fourteen  wounded, 
and  were  driven  from  the  village  when  help  arrived  from 
Mawana.  This  is  the  way  matters  stand.  The  Kurds  were 
beaten,  and  they  have  not  attempted  another  attack.  The 
Salar  has  returned  from  Tabriz,  and  has  sent  a  few  soldiers 
up  to  Balulan,  and  has  told  them  to  sit  quietly  and  await 
the  action  of  the  Crown  Prince. 

MAY  17th. — The  past  week,  including  yesterday,  Sunday, 
has  been  a  crazy  one,  made  so  by  the  arrival  of  the  Crown 
Prince,  his  chief  wife,  and  her  children  last  Wednesday. 
Not  only  have  I  had  to  see  him  and  them,  but  so  many  of 


246  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

the  big  guns  that  are  with  them  have  called  upon  me  for 
professional  aid,  or  sent  for  me  to  go  there,  that  I  have 
been  unusually  busy.  Yesterday  was  the  Coans'  and  Harry's 
last  Sunday  here;  we  were  together  as  much  as  we  could  be. 
Before  tea  we  had  a  walk  together  in  the  inner  garden,  and 
we  had  our  usual  Sunday-school  lesson  on  the  roof.  Later 
several  came  over,  and  the  Coans  played  for  us  all.  They 
now  plan  to  leave  next  Saturday,  but  if  the  Vali  Ahd  goes 
also  on  that  day,  it  may  necessitate  a  change.  It  is  growing 
on  me,  the  loneliness  which  we  will  experience  when  they 
are  all  gone.  We  have  been  having  trouble  over  the  servant 
question,  so  that  makes  the  situation  embarrassing.  Still, 
we  shall  get  on  somehow.  We  could  very  easily  get  along 
for  months  on  native  food,  if  it  should  have  to  come  to  that, 
which  it  is  not  likely  to  do. 

JUNE  1st. — Here  we  are  alone  in  this  big  house,  we  three. 
Last  Monday  the  Coans  and  Harry  left.  The  little  boys 
and  I  went  as  far  as  Gavelan,  and  returned  the  next  day. 
The  natives  have  expressed  much  sympathy  with  us  in  our 
loneliness.  It  is  very  hard,  the  house  seems  so  quiet  and 
lonely,  and  we  miss  so  much  the  many  dear  ones.  The 
week  has  been  full  of  work  and  anxiety  for  the  Christians 
of  Tergawar.  Shebani,  Balulan,  Hekki,  and  Dostullan  have 
been  burned  after  the  people  fled  from  them.  In  Dostullan, 
Selbi,  Kasha  Onar's  mother  (she  graduated  from  Fiske 
Seminary  in  the  first  class)  was  burned  to  death  with  three 
other  women.  In  Shebani  twelve  men  were  cut  off  from  the 
rest  and  were  killed.  At  present  all  the  Syrians  of  the  vil- 
lages of  northern  Tergawar  are  flocked  together  in  Mawana, 
surrounded  by  not  less  than  1,000  Kurds.  There  is  not  much 
anxiety  for  them  as  they  are  able  to  hold  the  village  as  long 
as  their  ammunition  holds  out.  Some  reached  them  yes- 
terday from  here.  There  is  general  panic.  All  the  villages 
along  the  frontier  are  running  their  property  into  the  city. 
No  troops  have  stirred  out  of  the  city.  The  officials  say  that 
until  they  receive  orders  from  headquarters  they  are  not  able 
to  do  so.  We  have  been  in  conference  with  these  authorities 
and  are  keeping  the  consuls  notified.  More  than  likely  the 
Sheikh  has  a  hand  in  it,  and  is  anxious  to  wipe  out  Mawana. 
Meanwhile  the  sheep  and  cattle  of  the  villages  are  also  being 


THE  CLOSING  YEAKS  OF  WORK         247 

taken.  Last  night  they  came  down  to  Anhar  and  took  their 
sheep;  the  night  before  those  of  a  village  further  up  were 
taken. 

JUNE  3rd. — From  the  mountains  you  probably  get  direct 
reports.  The  most  encouraging  thing  this  winter  in  this 
field  has  been  the  work  in  Gawar,  where  Mr.  McDowell 
worked  with  the  native  helpers.  There  was  an  awakening 
there  such  as  we  have  not  seen  since  the  very  earliest  his- 
tory of  missionary  effort  on  that  plain. 

Recently  a  new  Patriarch  has  been  consecrated  in  place 
of  the  late  Mar  Shimon,  and  it  has  been  voted  that  I  join 
Mr.  McDowell  in  a  visit  to  the  new  Patriarch  early  in  July. 
This  young  man  is  only  sixteen  years  old,  but  he  is  a  bright, 
active  fellow,  and  there  seems  to  be  a  general  acceptance 
of  him  as  a  civil  and  ecclesiastical  head  of  the  Syrian  tribes 
in  Kurdistan.  Now  that  Mr.  McDowell  has  established  his 
family  in  Van  as  headquarters,  the  question  arises  again 
as  to  whether  it  is  not  the  wisest  plan  to  open  the  training 
school  for  mountain  helpers  there.  There  have  and  always 
will  be  strong  arguments  in  favour  of  doing  this  work  in 
our  college  here,  but  there  are  advantages  also  in  making 
Van  one  at  least  of  the  places  where  a  limited  number  of 
students  from  the  mountains  can  be  prepared  for  our  work 
in  their  districts.  The  Mission  will  undoubtedly  consider 
this  question  shortly,  and  we  pray  that  guidance  shall  be 
given  in  this  important  matter. 

It  is  reported  that  we  are  soon  to  have  a  Russian  consul 
here,  probably  a  vice-consul.  When  this  event  takes  place 
it  will  materially  augment  the  feeling  on  the  part  of  all 
classes  of  the  ever-increasing  influence  the  Russians  are 
obtaining  in  Persia.  Already  they  have  control  of  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  customs,  with  the  Belgians  as  the  nom- 
inal agents,  also  of  the  postal  service.  The  large  loans  which 
the  Persian  government  has  secured  in  Russia  and  Belgium 
give  the  Russians  again  a  powerful  hold  upon  this  country. 
For  some  reason  or  other  the  road  that  the  Russians  had 
just  begun  to  construct  between  the  Russian  boundary  at 
Julfa  and  Teheran  is  not  being  built  at  present,  work  on  it 
having  been  suspended.  A  strong  feeling  prevails  among  the 
ruling  classes  as  well  as  among  the  peasants  that  Persia  is 


248  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

practically  in  the  hands  of  the  great  Czar,  to  do  as  he  pleases 
with  it.  The  missionary  efforts  on  the  part  of  the  Russians 
here  at  present  are  chiefly  manifest  along  the  line  of  estab- 
lishing, on  a  large  scale,  a  plant  for  printing,  as  well  as  in 
war  that  is  being  waged  with  the  representatives  of  the  old 
Nestorian  party  for  the  possession  of  the  Nestorian  churches 
and  property. 

At  the  present  writing  we  all,  and  by  we  I  mean  all  the 
Christian  population  of  Urumia,  are  in  deep  anxiety  over 
the  fate  of  the  Christians  of  Tergawar,  as  well  as  to  the 
outcome  of  the  disturbances  there,  upon  the  fanatical  Mos- 
lems of  the  city  and  villages  on  the  plain. 

JUNE  14th. — A  few  words  will  inform  you  of  all  that  has 
occurred  in  the  way  of  the  affair  which  I  have  reported  rather 
fully  the  last  two  weeks.  The  Vali  Ahd's  special  "  mamur  " 
succeeded  in  getting  Kudu  Beg,  the  brother  of  the  boy 
whom  I  went  to  see,  who  was  shot  in  the  knee,  to  come  down, 
also  a  number  of  the  Mawana  men.  He  told  them  that  he 
wished  them  to  make  up  and  let  bygones  be  bygones.  They 
did  this,  and  then  the  three  Kashas  of  Mawana  and  Dostullan 
had  a  present  of  a  shawl  each,  Beijan  was  given  a  horse, 
and  two  Kurds  had  presents.  After  this  they  were  all  sent 
home.  Nothing  has  been  done  or  said  in  regard  to  a  recom- 
pense for  the  Christians.  Indeed,  they  have  no  reason  to 
think  that  they  will  ever  get  back  anything  that  they  have 
lost.  The  Salar  has  told  them  that  he  will  give  them  joists 
for  the  roofs  that  were  burned  down,  but  judging  from  past 
promises  they  don't  expect  much  from  this.  I  presume 
some  will  stay  and  others  quit  the  country.  Two  days  ago 
the  Shekoik  Kurds  came  down  on  Salmas,  and  plundered 
two  villages.  We  have  no  particulars,  but  the  Fath-i-Sultan 
was  ordered  by  the  Crown  Prince  to  go  there  with  two 
hundred  horsemen,  and  then  return  to  Tabriz,  which  con- 
tinues disturbed.  Here  in  the  city  there  have  been 
rumours  and  troubles  of  one  kind  or  another.  In  the  chief 
caravansarai,  where  we  have  our  book-room,  there  were  a 
number  of  our  people  sitting,  talking  together,  when  a  large 
company  of  the  young  mullah  students  marched  through, 
accompanied  by  the  rabble,  shouting,  "  Drive  the  foreigners 
out,  kill  the  Christians ! "  Soon  another  company,  subjects 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         249 

of  the  village  Karagoz,  which  is  owned  by  a  Moslem,  who 
is  a  Russian  subject,  and  who  is  oppressing  them  greatly, 
followed,  crying,  "Drive  the  Russians  out."  The  Syrians 
and  Armenians  from  the  shops  closed  up  their  quarters,  and 
lost  no  time  in  getting  away,  naturally  thoroughly  fright- 
ened. 

JUNE  25th. — The  chicks  are  asleep,  and  I  am  alone  up 
here  in  my  study.  It  has  been  a  very  busy  day,  and  indeed 
all  these  days  are  very  full,  and  I  am  rery  much  rushed  and 
very  tired  by  night.  Still,  when  I  awake  in  the  morning, 
I  am  as  well  off  as  ever,  so  that  I  think  I  can  stand  the 
work  all  right.  The  dreariness  of  the  home  grows  rather 
than  diminishes  as  time  goes  on.  It  is  a  month  since  the 
Coans  and  Harry  left.  It  seems  much  more,  or  less,  as 
you  look  at  it.  Joseph  and  Andrew  and  I  went  out  after 
our  late  supper,  and  weeded  in  the  flowerbeds,  then  the  boys 
went  over  to  practise  their  songs  together  for  to-morrow 
night  when  we  have  a  Mission  supper,  and  the  children  have 
an  exhibition  as  their  school  year  is  about  to  close.  I  have 
been  doing  accounts  and  seeing  the  teachers,  for  I  have  all 
the  work  that  exists  as  to  the  superintendence  of  the  college 
affairs,  the  accounts,  looking  after  the  grounds,  the  repairs, 
the  teachers  and  servants,  during  vacation,  until  Mr.  Shedd 
returns.  The  whole  main  college  building  is  being  whitened, 
the  first  time  since  it  was  built.  Now  it  is  late  and  I  must 
only  begin  this  letter  and  get  to  bed  to  prepare  for  to- 
morrow which  is  very  full  of  engagements. 

He  wrote  careful  reports  of  the  trouble  in  Tergawar 
to  the  Board  and  to  the  British  consul-general  in 
Tabriz.  The  British  representatives  in  Tabriz  for  years 
had  charge  of  American  interests  in  northwestern  Per- 
sia, where  there  was,  until  1907,  no  American  consul, 
and  had  cared  for  them  with  characteristic  faithful- 
ness and  generosity. 

In  the  autumn,  to  the  doctor's  great  joy,  his  daugh- 
ter Lillie  returned  to  Urumia  from  America.  On  Sep- 
tember 12th,  1903,  he  wrote  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Board,  who  had  visited  him  in  1896 : — 


250      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

History  of  a  certain  sort  and  not  altogether  desirable  is 
forming  rapidly.  We  seldom  have  had  a  summer  of  such 
utter  lawlessness.  The  notorious  thieves  and  robbers  have 
been  reaping  freely,  and  as  usual  at  such  times,  when  noted 
outlaws  are  out  in  the  field,  many  inclined  in  the  same  way 
are  doing  what  they  can  under  the  name  of  these  chiefs 
in  this  pastime.  Our  late  Governor  was  utterly  incapable 
of  keeping  any  kind  of  order,  and  made  criminal  mistakes 
in  dealing  with  the  troubles  in  Tergawar.  It  is  only  within 
the  last  few  days  that  those  inhabitants  of  the  five  villages 
which  have  been  crowded  into  one  village  have  been  able 
to  scatter  somewhat,  under  escort  of  soldiers,  and  reap  what 
they  find  left  of  their  wheat  fields.  Whenever,  up  to  this 
time,  they  attempted  it  a  large  escort  of  armed  neighbours 
would  watch  while  they  harvested,  and  one  day  the  escort 
was  surprised,  and  two  men  were  shot,  one  dying  on  the  spot, 
and  the  other  made  a  cripple  for  life.  The  late  Governor 
was  a  man  whom  you  called  on,  I  think,  and  who  showed 
you  his  room  with  canary  birds  nesting  in  it.  About  a 
month  ago  a  new  Governor  arrived  who,  with  the  Majdi 
Seltaneh  (the  bravest  and  most  active  of  our  young  officers 
of  TJrumia),  has  secured  the  governorship  of  Urumia,  in- 
cluding as  usual  TJshnuk  to  the  south  of  us,  S  almas,  and 
Khoi.  The  Majdi  Seltaneh  has  sublet  Salmas  and  Khoi, 
and  he  himself,  at  the  head  of  1,000  cavalry,  consisting  of 
Shekoik  Kurds,  rough  riders,  and  sitters  from  Maku,  and 
a  regiment  of  cavalry  from  near  Tabriz,  as  well  as  two 
regiments  of  infantry  with  three  Krupp  guns  and  their 
artillery  men  are  skirting  the  border  to  the  west  of  us.  Just 
at  present  they  are  camped  near  a  fort  that  the  noted  Kurd- 
ish chief  (the  son  of  Obeidullah  who  invaded  Persia  in 
1880)  has  just  built  in  a  village  which  the  Persians  claim  is 
theirs,  and  which  the  Turks  are  trying  to  get  hold  of.  It 
is  on  the  main  way  to  Gawar  and  clearly  Persian  from  a 
geographical  viewpoint.  This  young  man  has  been  sent 
with  secret  orders  to  attack  and  destroy  that  fort.  Before 
he  approached  it  some  Shekoik  Kurds,  without  orders,  at- 
tacked it,  and  in  a  skirmish  that  followed  lost  a  few  killed 
and  wounded,  and  inflicted  like  damages  upon  the  Sheikh's 
men  occupying  it.  It  was  reported  that  a  number  of  Turk- 
ish soldiers  had  been  killed,  and  that  the  Turkish  troops 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         251 

all  along  the  border  were  assembling  to  take  revenge,  and 
that  the  Sheikh  was  about  to  attack  Urumia,  and  the  Majdi 
Seltaneh  and  the  Governor  here  nearly  lost  their  positions, 
as  the  Crown  Prince  was  ready  to  prove  to  the  Turks  that 
they  had  not  acted  under  orders,  and  would  be  punished  for 
their  mistake.  The  Governor  here  sent  for  one  of  the  chief 
Kurds  nearby,  and  sent  a  very  sweet  letter  to  the  Sheikh, 
telling  him  what  a  terrible  mistake  had  been  committed  by 
Persian  Kurds,  and  that  they  always  admired  him,  and  de- 
sired closer  relations  with  him,  etc.,  etc.  One  of  our  oldest 
officers  here  by  the  title  of  Vali  has  now  gone  up  to  visit 
the  Sheikh  and  to  see  if  he  can  patch  the  thing  up  somehow. 
This  chief  is  very  powerful,  and  the  Turkish  government, 
whose  subject  he  is,  is  always  in  trouble  with  him,  and  never 
or  seldom  takes  any  measures  to  displease  him. 

The  next  few  days  will  decide  this  question  for  us,  I  think. 
They  will  probably  come  to  some  agreement  by  which  the 
Sheikh  will  have  his  way  and  the  Persian  officials  will  have 
their  bribes.  Or  there  may  be  some  real  danger  of  a  serious 
conflict.  Mr.  Sterrett  and  Mr.  McDowell  have  been  down 
here  for  a  conference  the  past  two  weeks,  and  cannot  find 
any  one  willing  to  take  them  over  the  border.  This  fort  is 
a  day's  march  from  here,  perhaps  thirty  miles. 

The  arrival  of  a  Russian  vice-consul,  to  reside  in  Urumia, 
marks  a  new  era  for  this  part  of  Persia.  A  few  nights  ago, 
at  a  banquet  given  by  the  Governor  on  the  occasion  of  the 
Shah's  birthday,  where  a  representative  from  each  foreign 
mission  was  invited  and  this  consul,  the  consul  in  response 
to  a  toast  and  address  of  welcome  given  by  a  Persian  official 
who  was  so  drunk  that  he  could  not  stop  the  flow  of  flatter- 
ing words,  remarked  that  his  position  and  action  would  de- 
pend largely  upon  the  attitude  of  the  Persian  government  to 
him,  that  he  was  ready  to  aid  the  Persians  if  they  would 
do  as  they  should,  or  that  he  would  have  to  act  without  their 
aid  if  they  failed  to  support  him.  It  was  a  long  course- 
dinner,  served  in  our  style,  with  a  boisterous  and  inhar- 
monious band  to  play  a  snatch  of  a  tune  after  each  toast 
had  been  given.  After  the  dinner  we  had  the  finest  dis- 
play of  fireworks  that  I  have  seen  in  Persia.  Adjoining 
the  Governor's  yard  lives  one  of  our  wealthiest  Khans,  who 
was  having  a  ten-day  wedding  for  his  grandson.  ^e  were 


252  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

all  asked  to  go  in  there  and  watch  the  ceremony  of  receiving 
the  sweets  sent  by  the  bride's  household  to  the  bridegroom. 
At  the  banquet,  with  us,  aside  from  the  Governor,  and  the 
Governor  for  the  Christians,  there  were  three  Persians,  the 
highest  officials  in  the  town.  These,  with  us,  sat  at  the  win- 
dows of  an  elegant  saloon  looking  out  upon  the  courtyard. 
A  large  space  was  spread  with  rich  rugs,  and  on  these  sat 
several  hundred  of  the  merchant  class  and  lower  Khans  who 
were  invited.  Thirty  immense  wooden  trays,  each  about 
ten  and  a  half  feet  wide  and  six  feet  long  were  brought  in 
and  arranged  between  these  guests.  Each  tray  was  lighted 
with  four  candles  in  shades  that  prevent  their  being  blown 
out,  and  with  a  costly  oil  lamp  in  the  centre,  and  spread  with 
flowers  and  fruit  and  candies.  There  were  two  trays  bear- 
ing a  costly  Persian  shawl  suit  for  the  bridegroom  from  the 
bride,  and  quite  a  little  of  her  needlework  for  him.  The 
sum  that  he  had  to  pay  her  was  about  20,000  tomans;  and 
two  villages  representing  not  less  than  this  sum.  In  case  this 
young  man  at  any  time  chooses  to  divorce  her  he  can  do  so 
on  relinquishing  all  right  to  this  money  and  property.  So 
long  as  they  live  together  they  can  both  live  on  it,  but  this 
much  is  made  over  to  her  in  her  name.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
no  one  divorces  a  lady  who  has  such  a  dowry.  The  men 
can  marry  other  wives,  of  course,  if  they  choose,  and  concu- 
bines without  limit.  Here  we  had  a  repetition  of  the  fire- 
works, and  the  same  band  played  for  us.  The  sweets  were 
distributed  to  the  assembled  multitudes  in  the  yard,  while 
we  were  refreshed  with  tea  and  sherbets.  We  also  had  a  taste 
of  the  sweets.  That  day  we  had  been  invited  to  dinner  at 
this  house  where  the  wedding  was  going  on.  Dr.  Labaree 
and  Mr.  Sterrett  and  I  went,  and  on  the  following  day  the 
ladies  were  invited.  It  was  the  day  when  all  the  Khan's 
wives  were  invited,  and  so  they  had  a  very  spectacular 
scene  as  they  looked  upon  some  two  hundred  ladies  dressed 
in  costliest  silks  and  satins  and  velvets,  who  wore  every 
colour  of  the  rainbow. 

I  am  treating  an  interesting  German,  a  Dr.  Mann,  who 
has  spent  the  last  two  years  in  Kurdistan  and  other  parts 
of  Persia,  learning  the  dialects  of  the  Persian  and  Kurdish 
languages.  He  was  a  good  scholar  in  both  before  he  left 
Germany,  and  now  has  taken  them  up  on  the  ground.  He 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         253 

is  down  with  typhoid  fever,  but  is  getting  along  quite  well. 
The  two  chief  men  in  the  Russian  Mission,  the  Archiman- 
drite and  the  Yarmanakh,  have  also  had  a  siege,  but  I  have 
now  stopped  calling  regularly  on  them  as  they  are  con- 
valescent. 

The  troubles  with  the  Kurds  of  Tergawar  and  Dasht 
were  not  the  only  occasion  of  anxiety.  The  employ- 
ment by  the  government  of  Belgians  in  the  customs 
and  post  led  to  bitter  feeling  on  the  part  of  the  eccle- 
siastics and  of  the  displaced  Persian  officials.  In  Oc- 
tober, Dr.  Cochran  sent  to  the  Board  a  comprehensive 
report  of  the  whole  situation  and  of  his  unavoidable 
relation  to  it,  in  which  he  reviewed  also  the  actions  of 
the  Kurds  of  Dasht,  whose  resentment  at  his  resistance 
to  their  crimes  and  outrages  was  to  have  such  fatal 
result : — 

The  position  of  the  missionary  to  the  Christian  community 
about  us  is  still  unchanged  in  respect  of  his  being,  in  a  sense, 
the  "father,"  and  the  one  to  whom  it  can  look  for  aid  and 
counsel  in  the  time  of  oppression  and  danger.  Perhaps  the 
time  will  come  when  foreign  consuls  take  up  their  residence 
here,  that  all  such  relations  will  be  assumed  by  them,  but 
for  the  present  we  are  bound  to  do  what  we  can.  At  the 
same  time  we  ever  keep  in  mind  the  fact  that  we  desire  to 
present  every  case  to  the  proper  officials  in  a  way  that  will 
not  offend  them,  nor  make  them  feel  that  we  are  too  officious, 
but  in  a  polite  and  kind  way  bring  our  influence  to  bear 
upon  them  in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  some  degree  of 
redress  for  the  oppressed. 

It  is  the  relation  that  the  doctor  sustains  to  those  in 
authority,  because  of  his  professional  work  among  them,  that 
brings  to  him  in  this  station,  at  least,  a  large,  responsible, 
and  anxious  labour. 

The  last  summer  has  been  full  of  anxiety  and  trouble, 
due  largely  to  the  lawless  condition  of  the  country.  The 
weakness  and  supineness  of  the  government,  always  very 
evident,  becomes  painfully  so  whenever  there  is  any  unusual 


254  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

uprising  among  the  Kurds  or  the  rougher  elements  in  the 
towns  and  cities.  For  some  time  back  there  has  been  a 
great  deal  of  grumbling  against  the  government  for  giving 
away  in  concessions  so  much  to  the  foreigners.  The  Custom 
and  Postal  systems  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Belgians.  There 
is  a  rumour  that  the  internal  revenues  will  also  be  given 
over  to  the  care  of  the  foreigners,  and  in  consequence  much 
hard  feeling  is  stirred  up  among  two  classes  of  people  in  the 
land. 

The  Mohammedan  ecclesiastics,  who  have  such  power  and 
influence  in  criminal  and  civil  cases,  and  who,  when  un- 
able to  make  the  authorities  submit  to  their  wishes,  will 
proclaim  the  bazars  closed,  and  stir  up  all  the  people  of 
the  baser  sort  to  make  a  demonstration  against  the  man  or 
men,  or  action  which  they  oppose,  see  in  the  coming  of  the 
foreigners  into  power  here  an  element  of  danger  to  their 
position  and  religious  influence.  The  second  class  that  is 
affected  by  having  the  administration  of  these  departments 
committed  to  the  foreigner  is  the  vast  number  of  munshis, 
or  secretaries,  who  will  be  thrown  out  of  employment.  Much 
of  the  revenue  in  the  country  never  passes  out  of  the  hands 
of  these  men,  and  they  will  always  be  an  army  of  malcontents, 
ready  to  do  what  they  can  to  prevent  the  change  that  means 
such  a  loss  to  them.  In  many  cities  of  the  land  there  have 
been  open  demonstrations  against  the  King  and  his  ad- 
ministration, demanding  that  the  Europeans  who  have  charge 
of  this  work  be  expelled,  and  that  the  country  be  permitted 
to  live  along  in  the  good  old  way  of  their  fathers.  In 
Tabriz  there  was  a  demonstration  which  compelled  the 
Crown  Prince  to  move  to  a  neighbouring  town  the  European 
chief  of  the  Customs  with  his  family,  and  keep  careful 
watch  over  him.  In  this  case,  however,  the  government  was 
equal  to  the  occasion,  and  by  making  the  opposers  believe 
that  Russian  Cossacks  were  ready  to  enter  Persia  all  along 
the  frontier  if  they  did  not  desist,  the  disturbances  were 
quelled,  and  the  ringleaders  were  banished. 

At  the  same  time  Urumia  City  and  country  are  dwelling 
in  fear  and  actual  danger  of  a  general  uprising,  against  the 
Christians  first,  and  secondly  against  the  government.  A 
comparatively  small  affair  had  been  exaggerated,  and  had 
become  the  starting-point  for  a  most  serious  attack  upon 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         255 

the  Christians  of  Tergawar,  a  little  district  of  six  Christian 
and  three  or  four  Kurdish  villages  lying  over  the  foothills, 
some  twenty  miles  from  the  city.  The  southern  end  of  thia 
valley  or  plateau  is  called  Dasht,  where  there  are  more  than 
twice  as  many  Kurdish  villages,  with  several  hundred  Chris- 
tian families  living  in  them  with  the  Kurds.  The  Kurds 
of  Dasht  united  to  crush  or  drive  out  the  Christians  of 
Tergawar.  These  Christians  are  brave  and  warlike,  and  not 
unlike  their  Kurdish  neighbours  in  dress,  manners,  and 
morals.  But  as  the  government  did  not  come  to  their  aid, 
as  it  usually  has  done  in  the  past  when  they  have  been 
attacked,  they  were  badly  beaten.  They  took  refuge  together 
in  the  largest  village,  and  there  they  have  been  huddled 
together  since  June.  Three  villages  were  burned,  twenty- 
one  men,  and  four  women  have  been  killed;  others  have  been 
wounded;  sixteen  hundred  sheep  have  been  taken;  their  hay- 
stacks have  been  burned,  and  they  have  been  practically  be- 
sieged day  and  night;  they  have  been  unable  to  feed  their 
flocks  at  any  distance  from  their  village,  and  so  have  had  to 
feed  the  winter  clover  and  the  grain  fields  nearby;  they  have 
had  to  go  armed  and  in  large  numbers  to  harvest  their  grain. 
The  Kurds  at  the  head  of  this  trouble  were  making  every 
effort  to  excite  Mohammedan  ecclesiastics  of  this  city  against 
the  Christians  by  reporting  that  they  had  desecrated  their 
mosques,  and  burned  their  holy  books  and  their  dead.  These 
stories  were  disseminated,  and  aroused  not  a  little  bitter 
feeling,  and  talk,  and  some  action  against  Christians  gen- 
erally. The  Mohammedans  of  the  city  were  preparing  to 
do  something  serious  when  the  failure  of  the  mullahs  in 
Tabriz  to  accomplish  their  purpose,  together  with  the  arrest 
and  expulsion  of  the  leading  mullahs,  made  the  revolution- 
ists desist  from  their  purpose.  At  the  same  time  the  Kurds 
and  thieves,  and  robbers  generally,  vied  with  each  other  in 
doing  all  the  harm  they  could.  Everywhere  the  roads  were 
dangerous.  Large  and  small  bodies  of  men,  and  caravans 
would  be  robbed,  flocks  and  herds  were  carried  away  daily, 
and  nightly  thieves  broke  through  and  stole.  The  Kurds 
all  along  the  border  emboldened,  threatened  to  overrun  the 
country  in  a  general  raid,  and  now  both  Christian  and 
Moslem,  thoroughly  frightened,  began  to  desert  their  villages 
and  move  their  goods  within  the  city  walls.  It  was  only 


256  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

after  a  new  Governor  had  arrived,  and  an  army  had  been  sent 
to  the  border  that  comparative  quiet  was  restored. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  look  upon  the  condition  of  the 
people  about  us  and  be  able  to  do  so  little  to  relieve  their 
distress.  When  it  is  not  the  attacks  of  outlaws,  it  is  the 
government  officials  that  oppress,  or  the  cruel  hands  of  the 
land  proprietors,  or  the  wickedness  of  each  other  that  bring 
down  upon  them  the  losses  and  suffering  which  they  are 
bearing  so  constantly. 

Recently  I  was  waited  on  by  a  large  delegation  of  Chris- 
tians from  Degala.  Their  plea  was  that  they  be  protected, 
in  the  first  place  from  the  ravages  of  officers  who  had  been 
sent  to  the  village  to  arrest  a  large  number  of  them,  in 
order  to  fine  them  for  the  loss  of  150  sheep,  and  for  the 
murder  of  two  men  that  had  occurred  some  time  ago,  and 
secondly,  that  they  be  helped  to  clear  themselves  of  this 
charge  of  murder.  Last  spring  some  Kurds  from  the  south, 
who  had  brought  sheep  for  sale,  came  for  the  night  to 
Degala.  They  were  attacked  in  the  night  by  enemies  who 
had  tracked  and  followed  them,  and  two  of  their  men,  who 
were  watching  their  sheep  in  the  streets  of  the  place,  were 
killed,  and  their  sheep  were  carried  off.  The  next  day 
the  affair  was  reported  to  the  Governor,  and  he  had  sent 
horsemen  with  the  surviving  owners  of  the  sheep,  who  over- 
took the  robbers,  but  were  not  strong  enough  to  recover  their 
sheep.  I  wrote  our  present  Governor,  telling  him  the  facts 
in  the  case,  and  he  replied  that  although  he  had  orders  from 
the  Crown  Prince  to  take  the  blood  money  and  the  price 
of  the  sheep  from  Degala  village,  he  would,  for  my  sake, 
bring  his  policemen  away  from  the  village.  He  inclosed 
an  order  to  his  chief  officer  in  that  village,  commanding 
him  to  come  away  with  his  men.  While  the  village  was  thus 
relieved  from  the  unjust  burden,  and  of  the  anxiety  of  caring 
for  and  feeding  these  wolf-like  officers  of  the  government, 
and  were  even  spared  paying  this  very  heavy  fine,  they  had 
to  pay  a  good  sum  to  the  officials  who  had  been  charged  with 
the  duty  of  exacting  this  fine  from  them.  It  is  not  exaggera- 
tion to  say  that  the  chief  end  of  most  of  the  officials  here  is  to 
make  all  the  money  they  can  out  of  each  case,  irrespective  of 
the  merits  of  the  case.  Here  was  a  good  excuse:  An  order 
from  the  Crown  Prince  to  take  the  blood  money  for  two  men, 


THE  CLOSING  YEARS  OF  WORK         257 

and  the  price  of  150  sheep,  from  a  well-to-do  Christian  vil- 
lage. The  price  of  a  Christian  killed  by  a  Moslem  is  $32. 
That  of  a  Moslem  killed  by  a  Christian  $1,000.  In  such  a 
case  the  natural  course  pursued  by  the  government  would 
be  to  take  this  fine  from  the  village,  together  with  a  good 
deal  more  for  the  trouble  of  the  officers,  and  the  benefit 
of  all  hands.  They  would  then  reserve  at  least  one-tenth  of 
this  price  of  the  blood  and  the  sheep  for  themselves,  send 
a  large  portion  to  the  Crown  Prince,  and  give  something 
to  the  friends  of  the  deceased,  and  the  owners  of  the  sheep. 
The  past  week  has  witnessed  the  murder,  in  cold  blood, 
of  one  of  the  best  educated  and  most  respected  of  the 
Syrians  of  the  country,  Mr.  M.  G.  Daniel  of  this  place. 
After  graduating  from  the  Mission  schools  this  man  had  been 
our  High  School  teacher,  and  later  college  teacher.  He 
then  spent  eleven  years  in  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
chiefly  in  the  study  of  theology.  He  returned  to  his  family 
this  summer.  On  the  day  of  this  tragedy,  he  was  overseeing 
workmen  in  his  vineyard  when  a  notorious  outlaw,  Sayid 
Ghafar,  who  has  been  terrorizing  the  community  without 
let  or  hindrance,  shot  him  down  because  he  would  not  give 
up  his  watch. 

It  will  be  best  to  add  here  a  paragraph  written  by  Dr. 
Cochran  in  the  following  spring,  indicating  the  grave 
consequences  of  this  tragedy: — 

This  Mr.  Daniel  was  blameless  in  character,  and  of  a  peace- 
able disposition.  The  outrages  of  this  sayid  for  so  long 
a  time  now  culminated  in  this  deed  against  a  naturalized 
British  subject.  The  cries  to  local  authorities  to  be  pro- 
tected against  this  man  for  the  past  three  years  were  now 
repeated,  and  we  were  asked  to  send  strong  representations 
to  the  consuls,  and  to  urge  the  local  authorities  to  arrest 
the  assassin.  I  joined  with  a  member  of  the  English  Mis- 
sion here  in  bringing  the  case  to  the  immediate  notice  of 
the  authorities,  and  in  reporting  it  to  Tabriz  and  Teheran. 
Being  a  lineal  descendant  of  the  prophet  Mohammed,  this 
sayid  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  all  sayids  of  exemption  from 
the  more  common  punishments,  or  for  any  offence  against 


258      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

his  fellowmen  unless  of  the  very  gravest  nature,  and  then, 
too,  he  would  not  expect  to  receive  any  severe  punishment. 
So  this  Ghafar  was  not  arrested,  although  he  was  every  now 
and  then  seen  about  the  village  where  he  committed  this 
murder,  and  boldly  challenged  the  government  officers  to 
catch  him,  breathing  out  threats  all  the  while  against  all  for- 
eigners who  should  dare  have  him  punished.  For  five  months 
this  man  was  allowed  to  wander  about,  sometimes  seen  by 
the  officers  of  the  law,  but  never  arrested  until  he  inflamed 
the  minds  of  many  people  against  Christians.  He  was,  of 
course,  strongly  encouraged  by  fanatical  Mohammedans,  and 
finally  was  sent  by  the  ecclesiastics  to  the  Dasht  Kurds  for 
safekeeping.  While  there  he  increased  their  dissatisfaction 
with  all  and  any  persons  who  should  in  any  way  oppose 
them  in  their  deeds  of  wickedness.  There  is  no  doubt  but 
that  he  had  a  strong  influence  upon  these  Kurds,  and  when 
word  was  sent  to  them  that  there  was  a  good  opportunity 
to  attack  me  as  I  was  about  to  start  for  Khoi,  where  the 
distance  from  this  place  would  make  it  unlikely  that  it 
would  be  known  who  the  murderers  were,  a  band  of  men 
started  on  their  errand  of  revenge  for  having  had  their 
wicked  deeds  brought  to  the  notice  of  the  authorities.  The 
Dasht  Kurds  have  enlisted  him  in  their  warfare  against  the 
Christians,  whom  they  wish  to  persecute,  and  so  far  as  we  can 
understand  his  motives,  they  are  one  with  those  that  have 
been  cherished  by  the  Dasht  Kurds  for  the  past  year.  They 
have  both  wished  to  rid  the  country  of  one  who  knows  them 
well,  and  now  has  been  more  or  less  active  in  endeavouring  to 
get  the  authorities  to  protect  those  whom  they  have  been 
robbing  and  killing,  and  whom  they  wish  to  destroy  utterly. 

This  last  paragraph,  with  its  quiet  recognition  of  the 
enmity  which  he  had  aroused,  was  written  in  May, 
1904,  after  the  tragedy  in  which,  at  the  hands  of  this 
band,  another  died  in  Dr.  Cochran's  stead. 


xrv; 

"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  THE  REST  " 

THE  journey  from  Urumia  to  Julfa  on  the  Aras 
River,  which  divides  Russia  from  Persia,  even 
when  not  dangerous,  is  rough  and  uncomfort- 
able, and  the  Station,  of  course,  always  arranged  that 
some  one  of  the  men  should  accompany,  at  least  to 
Julfa,  any  of  the  women  missionaries  leaving  for 
Europe  or  for  home.  On  March  4th,  1904,  Miss  Mar- 
garet Dean,  who  had  been  the  teacher  of  the  children 
of  the  Mission  circle,  and  Miss  Paulat,  of  the  German 
Orphanage,  which  had  been  established  in  1896,  and 
Pastor  Wolff,  a  Swedish  missionary,  started  for  Rus- 
sia, and  Mr.  B.  W.  Labaree,  who  was  born  in  Urumia 
and  who  had  come  back  as  a  missionary  in  1893,  after 
a  college  course  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  and  a  Seminary 
course  at  Hartford,  Conn.,  went  with  them.  It  appears 
quite  certain,  as  Dr.  Cochran  stated  in  the  report 
quoted  in  the  last  chapter,  that  enemies  of  his  under- 
stood that  he  and  not  Mr.  Labaree  was  going  out  with 
the  party,  and  sent  word  to  Sayid  Ghafar  and  to  the 
Kurds  of  Dasht  that  they  could,  without  risk  of  de- 
tection, follow  them  and  attack  them  outside  of  the 
Urumia  district,  and  kill  the  doctor.  When  the  party 
left  Urumia,  unconscious  of  any  special  danger,  the 
Sayid  and  thirteen  of  the  Dasht  Kurds  followed,  but 
failed  to  overtake  them.  They  inquired  in  Salmas  of 
the  movements  of  the  missionaries,  and  learning  that 

259 


260  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

some  were  to  come  back  soon  on  the  return  to  Urumia, 
they  waited  for  them.  In  his  report  to  the  Board,  Dr. 
Cochran  relates  what  ensued : — 

The  party  of  Kurds  divided  up  into  three  companies,  which 
held  the  three  different  roads,  and  on  the  9th,  the  Say  id  and 
three  Kurds  attacked  Mr.  Labaree  and  his  servant  as  they 
were  approaching  Salinas,  before  they  were  out  of  the  moun- 
tain pass.  Israel  was  shot  down,  some  of  his  clothing 
stripped  off,  and  his  horse,  with  Mr.  Labaree's  journey  outfit, 
taken,  and  Mr.  Labaree  was  carried  off  toward  the  other 
passes,  and  finally  murdered  in  a  most  cruel  manner,  with 
daggers  and  sword  blows  (thirteen  in  all),  about  five  miles 
distant  from  where  his  servant's  body  lay.  Travellers  who 
had  seen  them  on  the  other  side  of  the  pass,  and  came  after 
them,  now  recognized  Israel's  body  as  they  came  upon  it, 
and  reported  the  murder  to  our  preacher  in  Salmas.  This 
preacher,  with  a  physician  who  is  a  graduate  of  our  schools, 
obtained  government  horsemen,  and  recovered  the  body  of 
the  servant,  and  finding  the  fresh  tracks  of  the  horsemen 
in  the  snow  and  muddy  grounds  across  the  hills,  came  upon 
the  body  of  Mr.  Labaree  in  a  wild  and  sheltered  valley. 
The  bodies  were  carefully  prepared  to  be  sent  to  Urumia, 
while  Mr.  Shedd  went  out  as  far  as  Gavelan  and  met  them, 
and  on  Sunday,  the  13th,  amid  a  large  throng,  the  bodies 
were  brought  to  the  college,  from  whence  the  next  day,  after 
impressive  funeral  services  had  been  held,  they  were  escorted 
to  Seir,  and  laid  side  by  side  in  the  Mission  cemetery.  The 
Christian  population  of  the  city  and  villages  along  the  route 
turned  out  in  very  large  numbers,  while  on  the  day  of  the 
funeral,  a  very  much  larger  number  than  the  college  chapel 
could  accommodate  stood  outside  to  show  their  sympathy 
and  horror  at  the  cruel  and  violent  death.  Immediately  upon 
returning  from  the  burial,  news  reached  us  that  the  fourteen 
persons  that  had  been  known  to  have  left  Tergawar  some 
days  before  had  been  seen  returning,  and  with  them  were 
two  extra  horses,  which  were  described  as  Mr.  Labaree's. 
From  that  time  to  this,  as  I  have  already  said,  evidence  has 
been  accumulating.  The  horses  have  been  seen  by  many. 
Ten  days  ago  they  were  taken  up  to  Jurma  in  hope  of 
getting  them  off  across  the  border  into  Turkey,  but  owing 


c 
o 

U 


o 
U 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  "    261 

to  the  snow-bound  roads,  they  did  not  succeed  in  crossing 
the  high  pass,  so  they  were  kept  in  a  sheepfold  for  a  few 
days,  and  finally,  lest  they  be  seen  there  by  Christians  in  a 
Tillage  near  by,  they  were  killed  and  buried.  .  .  .  We  have 
very  good  evidence  that  the  Sayid  returned  with  these  Kurds 
and  that  about  the  25th  of  March  he  came  to  Urumia.  He 
remained  down  here  for  a  few  days,  and  was  then  returned 
to  the  Kurdish  chiefs  with  the  instructions  that  he  should 
be  escorted  across  the  border  into  Turkey  if  they  could 
not  give  him  shelter.  There  is  constant  communication  be- 
tween the  Sayid  and  Kurds  on  the  one  hand  and  the  enemies 
here  on  the  other,  the  latter  keeping  them  informed  of  all 
that  is  going  on  here.  Even  the  telegrams  which  we  are 
obliged  to  send  to  the  consulate  and  the  embassy  are,  we 
have  reason  to  believe,  reported  to  enemies  here  and  in  turn 
given  by  them  to  the  criminals.  These  Kurdish  chiefs  of 
Tergawar  are  not  a  large  force,  but  they  have  repeatedly  been 
in  open  rebellion  against  the  government.  Their  mountain 
fastnesses  have  been  destroyed,  and  they  have  received  severe 
punishment  for  their  outlawry,  only  to  repeat  their  deeds 
of  oppression  and  violence  after  a  time.  Up  to  last  year 
we  have  been  able  to  keep  on  good  terms  with  them,  and  I 
went  up  to  the  home  of  the  lad  who  had  been  shot,  and 
removed  the  bullet  from  his  knee,  and  begged  the  large 
force  of  warriors  that  had  assembled  to  take  revenge  to 
commit  the  case  to  the  government,  but  immediately  on  leav- 
ing them,  they  attacked  the  village  of  the  men  who  had  shot 
their  young  chief.  Representations  had  to  be  made  to  the 
authorities  here  and  in  Tabriz  in  behalf  of  the  poor  Chris- 
tians, and  this  with  the  constant  active  opposition  of  the 
enemies,  has  created  much  bitter  feeling  against  me  in  par- 
ticular, and  against  foreigners  and  Christians  generally. 

In  a  more  personal  letter  to  the  secretary  of  the 
Board,  he  wrote: — 

The  government,  as  well  as  ourselves,  are  convinced  that 
this  act  has  been  committed  with  malice  and  premeditation, 
and  not  for  the  sake  of  plunder.  When  travellers  resist  with 
arms,  the  robbers  may,  if  driven  to  it,  shoot  them  down, 


262  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

but  that  is  all ;  they  would  not  inflict  needless  wounds.  This 
of  itself  nearly  proves  that  the  Sayid  Ghafar  has  done  it. 
This  was  done  on  Wednesday.  On  the  previous  Sunday,  he 
was  seen  in  a  tea-house  in  Salmas,  reviling  all  the  foreign 
powers,  and  threatening  to  kill  every  foreigner  he  could. 
Mr.  Labaree  was  told  the  next  day  when  he  was  going  to 
Khoi  that  the  Sayid  has  been  seen  there,  but  he  did  not 
think  it  was  so,  as  he  had  heard  just  before  leaving  here  that 
he  was  up  in  Tergawar.  .  .  . 

These  Kurds  of  Tergawar  have  repeatedly  rebelled  against 
the  government,  and  they  have  been  severely  punished,  but 
never  have  they  been  allowed  to  do  as  much  as  they  have 
this  last  year  without  restraint  and  opposition  from  the 
government.  It  is  very  difficult  to  understand  why  these 
young  men  should  have  been  allowed  to  be  assassinated  in 
this  cruel  manner,  unless  God  means  to  accept  them  as  an 
offering  without  blemish  in  behalf  of  and  for  the  sake  of  this 
distressed  and  oppressed  borderland. 

The  heaviness  of  his  personal  sorrow,  and  the  peril 
in  which  he  himself  lived  did  not  turn  his  mind  from 
the  wrongs  and  sufferings  of  the  poor  Christians,  whose 
strong  defence  he  had  been.  On  April  4th,  1904,  he 
closed  a  careful  report  to  the  American  minister  in 
Teheran  with  the  words: — 

Within  the  last  week  a  company  of  these  Dasht  Kurds 
carried  off  210  sheep  belonging  to  the  Tergawar  Christians, 
and  on  the  following  day  an  attack  was  said  to  have  been 
made  upon  a  sheepfold  in  the  night,  during  a  heavy  rain, 
and  in  tearing  it  down  the  roof  came  down  and  killed  eighty- 
five  more  sheep,  and  crushed  two  men,  but  not  mortally. 
Then  an  attack  was  made  on  Mawana  on  two  consecutive 
nights,  and  finally  a  message  was  sent  to  the  Christians 
that  they  must  either  come  out  and  settle  the  quarrels  of 
past  months,  or  that  the  Kurds,  who  were  assembling  in 
force,  would  attack  and  exterminate  them.  The  poor  Chris- 
tions,  once  so  brave,  were  terrified,  and  came  to  the  three 
Missions  here  in  the  hope  of  {jetting  redress.  The  Fath-i- 
Sultan  .  .  .  has  recently  sent  to  one  of  these  Kurdish 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  "   263 

chiefs  a  most  flattering  letter,  telling  him  of  the  confidence 
of  the  government  in  them,  and  thanking  them  for  the  serv- 
ices rendered  the  government,  and  has  sent  him  a  title,  etc. 
It  was  the  actions  of  this  man  .  .  .  that  have  made  the 

Kurds  so  overbearing  and  bold.  .    .    .   This  and  the  's 

driving  the  Christians  out  of  Balulan  last  summer  was  the 
starting-point  for  the  bold  behaviour  of  the  Kurds  ever  since. 
And  on  the  other  hand  the  government  has  not  aided  the 
Christians  in  the  least,  leaving  them  for  now  a  year  nearly 
crowded  in  two  villages,  without  crops  and  without  redress 
for  their  losses  and  wrongs. 

On  April  23rd,  1904,  he  wrote  to  the  British  consul- 
general  in  Tabriz: — 

The  six  villages  in  Tergawar  are  in  constant  danger  still. 
Since  our  last  telegram  to  you  on  this  subject,  the  Christians 
have  been  attacked  twice,  and  now  a  number  of  families  have 
been  carried  off,  so  the  report  goes,  by  the  Kurds  to  force 
them  to  live  in  their  villages,  and  the  few  houses  which  the 
Christians  had  fixed  up  for  themselves  in  Shebani  have 
been  burned  down.  Whenever  they  come  to  the  city  they 
do  so  in  large  bands,  and  when  they  went  up  yesterday 
they  expected  to  be  met  by  fifty  or  more  Kurds  who  were 
holding  the  valley  and  watching  for  their  return.  They  came 
down  to  beg  the  Governor  to  give  them  permission  to  pack 
up  and  leave  the  country,  but  he  ordered  them  back,  re- 
peating the  promises  which  have  filled  their  ears  for  the  past 
nine  months.  In  this  condition  of  affairs  they  cannot 
plough  and  sow;  most  of  their  cattle  and  sheep  have  been 
carried  away,  or  have  been  sold,  or  have  died  for  lack  of 
food,  and  their  condition  for  the  ensuing  year  will  be  that 
of  absolute  famine  if  the  country  is  not  quickly  restored 
to  order,  as  the  time  for  sowing  is  the  present. 

On  June  20th,  he  wrote  to  the  American  Legation 
to  the  charge  d'affaires: — 

Recently,  as  I  reported,  a  large  number  of  Kurds  attacked 
Mawana,  and  killed  three  men,  and  wounded  five.  The  Gov- 


264  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

ernor,  when  reporting  this  to  the  Crown  Prince,  made  out 
that  the  whole  blame  was  on  the  Christians,  that  they  had 
gone  up  against  the  Kurds,  etc.  This  was  a  falsehood.  He 
asked  a  number  of  Khans  to  go  up  to  Tergawar  and  see 
whether  the  battle  had  taken  place  near  the  Christian  village 
or  near  the  Kurds.  He  selected  a  number  of  men  who  own 
villages  between  the  city  and  the  Kurds,  and  some  of  whom 
sent  word  that  if  they  went  up  and  found  the  Kurds  to 
blame  they  would  not  be  able  to  say  so  publicly.  ...  It 
was  for  this  reason  and  to  find  the  exact  truth  that  Mr. 
Wratislaw  (the  British  consul-general  from  Tabriz,  who  had 
come  to  TJrumia)  went  to  the  spot,  and  found  out  for  him- 
self that  the  Christians  had  been  attacked  almost  in  their 
doors,  and  one  of  the  three  that  was  killed  had  a  halter  tied 
to  his  neck,  and  fastened  to  the  saddle  girth  of  one  of  the 
Kurds  who  was  of  the  party  that  killed  Mr.  Labaree,  and 
dragged  for  miles,  scattering  the  blood  and  the  contents 
of  his  abdomen  along  the  way.  ...  A  week  ago  to-day 
two  Mawana  men,  who  between  them  had  lost  four  brothers, 
met  one  of  the  murderers,  and  shot  him  in  the  leg  before 
he  was  rescued  by  the  caravan  with  which  he  was  travelling. 
That  was  the  first  and  only  case  of  aggression  on  the  part 
of  the  Mawana  people  since  the  trouble  began  a  year  ago. 
This  man  is  said  to  have  been  shot  through  the  flesh  of  the 
thigh.  Four  days  ago,  three  miles  out  of  town  on  the  road 
to  Tergawar,  these  Kurds  met  three  Christians  from  a  vil- 
lage at  that  point,  and  robbed  them,  and  held  them  till  a 
fourth  came  along  on  a  horse.  He  was  told  to  dismount  and 
give  up  his  horse,  and  as  he  did  not  do  it  immediately  he 
was  struck  senseless  with  the  butt  of  the  gun,  and  then 
badly  stabbed  in  four  places  about  the  head  and  neck,  his 
horse  and  clothes,  and  all  of  any  value  that  he  had  taken 
from  him.  The  Governor  has  not  attempted  to  do  a  thing 
to  punish  or  reprove  these  Kurds.  On  the  contrary,  last 
Wednesday,  as  he  was  entering  the  city  from  a  ride,  he  met 
some  Christians  from  Mawana,  and  stopped  them,  and  asked 
what  news  they  had  from  Tergawar.  They  replied  that  the 
roads  were  held,  and  they  could  not  get  back  home,  that 
although  they  were  a  large  party,  they  dared  not  return 
because  they  had  heard  that  the  Kurds  were  out  in  large 
numbers,  waiting  to  attack  them.  He  was  very  gracious 


to  them,  and  told  them  that  he  would  immediately  see  that 
the  roads  were  cleared.  He  did  send  right  away  to  the  Salar, 
and  demanded  that  he  prevent  the  Christians  of  Mawana 
from  holding  the  roads  against  the  Kurds,  and  to  see  that 
they  discontinued  to  trouble  the  Kurds.  .  .  . 

I  have  mentioned  these  very  recent  occurrences  in  reply 
to  your  request  in  to-day's  letter.  In  regard  to  your  ques- 
tion as  to  the  future,  I  can  only  say  that  you  will  remember 
I  have  frequently  said  in  my  correspondence  with  the  Lega- 
tion that  the  only  thing  that  seems  at  the  same  time  prac- 
ticable and  possible,  and  also  effectual,  would  be  to  have 
several  of  the  chiefs  of  Dasht  kept  in  Tabriz  or  Teheran 
as  hostages,  as  the  government  has  often  done  in  the  past, 
and  allowed  to  return  to  their  homes,  only  as  they  are  re- 
placed by  others  of  the  same  rank.  But  this  must  be  a  per- 
manent arrangement;  that  is,  for  a  term  of  years,  at  least. 

So,  too,  the  Legations  must  demand  the  expulsion  of  

for  a  long  time,  or  things  will  be  worse  than  ever  if  he 
return  after  a  few  months,  as  they  so  often  do,  with  great 
pomp  and  show  of  triumph.  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Kurds 
can  be  disarmed.  They  would  as  soon  part  with  their  heads, 
and  then  if  they  were  disarmed,  it  would  not  last  long. 

The  sorrows  of  these  villagers,  and  the  grief  which 
he  felt  at  Mr.  Labaree's  death  in  his  stead,  weighed 
on  his  heart  by  day  and  by  night.  Those  who  watched 
him  saw  his  hair  whitening  and  the  lines  of  his  face 
deepening,  and  perceived  that  the  burden  he  was  bear- 
ing was  pressing  with  perilous  weight.  ."  How  can  I 
eat  of  your  bread,"  he  said  to  the  Governor  with  whom, 
under  constraint,  he  was  dining,  "  when  it  is  your  fault 
that  my  brother  has  been  killed  ?  "  "  His  intense  feel- 
ing all  through  those  awful  months  is,  as  I  feel,"  writes 
Mrs.  Labaree,  "  what  hastened  his  end  more  than  any- 
thing else.  He  never  voluntarily  spoke  to  me  of  the 
fact  that  Mr.  Labaree  died  for  him,  and  when  he  would 
take  my  little  fatherless  children  into  his  arms,  such 
a  look  of  suffering  and  grief  came  into  his  face  as  I 


266       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

never  want  to  see  again.  The  more  I  think  of  it,  the 
more  convinced  I  am  that  death  was  absolutely  the 
only  way  out  of  the  maze  of  suffering,  danger,  and 
anxiety  in  which  the  doctor  found  himself.  And  God 
in  His  love  and  mercy  did  not  try  His  servant  beyond 
his  strength,  but  gently  released  him.  I  love  to  think 
that  Dr.  Cochran  and  Mr.  Labaree  look  at  the  whole 
awful  tragedy  from  God's  side  now  and  together,  in 
the  light,  they  are  convinced  that  they  were  led  safely 
through  the  awful  darkness  that  surrounded  their 
deaths.  And  I  also  love  to  think  that  we,  too,  shall 
know  and  understand  some  day,  and  in  that  hope  we 
may  even  now  rest  satisfied  that l  all  is  right  that  seems 
most  wrong,  if  it  be  His  dear  will.' " 

In  the  general  report  which  he  wrote  of  the  work 
of  the  Urumia  Station  for  the  year  ending  October, 
1904,  he  spoke  with  earnest  feeling  of  the  loss  which 
came  home  with  keenest  sorrow  to  him: — 

In  such  a  review  of  the  year's  history  of  our  Station,  the 
mere  mention  of  the  death  of  our  beloved  co-labourer,  the 
Rev.  B.  W.  Labaree,  is  not  sufficient.  Others  have  left  us 
during  the  year  to  recuperate  and  to  return,  but  Mr.  Labaree, 
while  pursuing  one  of  the  very  common  duties  in  our  life 
here,  met  bis  death  by  the  hands  of  bloodthirsty  assassins,  and 
has  reached  the  bourn  from  which  no  traveller  returns. 
God's  mysterious  dealings  with  His  faithful  servant  and 
with  His  work,  in  this  field,  we  cannot  fathom.  We  thought 
we  beheld  in  this  cruel  murder  a  sacrifice  in  behalf  of  the 
people,  a  sacrifice  by  which  an  oppressed  and  misruled  com- 
munity might  find  peace  and  security.  But  weary  and 
anxious  months  have  passed,  and  all  the  murderers  are  not 
apprehended,  nor  has  the  condition  of  the  Christians  in 
Tergawar  improved.  To  relate  all  that  has  been  done  by 
members  of  our  Station  in  connection  with  this  terrible 
tragedy  would  take  many  hours  of  time.  The  grief  and 
agony  of  the  full  realization  of  our  loss,  and  of  the  cruel 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  "   267 

death  which  ended  our  brother's  life,  with  the  anxiety  and 
danger  and  suspense  of  the  subsequent  weeks  and  months, 
my  pen  cannot  picture.  The  gathering  of  testimony,  frag- 
ment by  fragment,  day  after  day,  the  fitting  of  these  frag- 
ments and  the  elimination  of  proven  false  testimony,  until 
a  mass  of  circumstantial  evidence  has  accumulated  that  is 
an  overpowering  and  convicting  charge  of  guilt  against  the 
Sayid,  Mir  Ghafar  and  thirteen  Dasht  Kurds,  has  taken 
much  time  and  hard  work.  Nor  is  this  task  completed, 
for  new  corroborative  evidence  is  still  coming  in.  One  of 
the  greatest  causes  of  deep  anxiety  in  this  whole  effort  to 
get  at  the  exact  truth  has  been  the  fact  that,  with  the 
exception  of  the  confession  of  Mir  Ghafar  that  he  had 
killed  Mr.  Labaree,  and  the  positive  evidence  that  this  man 
had  been  with  the  Dasht  Kurds  up  to  within  a  few  days  of 
Mr.  Labaree's  murder,  and  that  he  returned  to  them  imme- 
diately after,  and  was  finally  captured  from  among  them,  our 
evidence  as  to  who  his  accomplices  were  rests  on  circum- 
stantial evidence,  very  abundant  in  the  aggregate,  but  frag- 
mentary, as  I  have  said,  and  obtained  for  the  most  part 
from  the  lower  classes  of  Tergawar  and  Dasht  Christians; 
from  Kurds  of  these  districts  and  Tergawar;  and  from 
shepherds  and  travellers  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  tragedy. 
We  regret  most  keenly  to  be  forced  to  arrive  at  the  convic- 
tion that  our  neighbours,  the  Dasht  Kurds,  are  the  criminals 
with  the  Sayid.  We  have  friendly  relations  with  all  the 
chiefs.  They  have  often  visited  me,  and  have  been  in  the 
hospital,  and  I  and  others  of  our  Station  have  been  in  their 
homes.  To  have  the  murderers  from  a  district  immediately 
contiguous  to  us,  and  the  road  to  the  city  passing  our  gate, 
increases  very  greatly  the  element  of  danger,  not  only  for 
the  present,  but  also  for  the  future,  whatever  punishment 
or  lack  of  punishment  this  tribe  may  receive.  Another 
«ause  for  the  deepest  concern  is  the  condition  of  the  Tergawar 
Christians.  For  weeks  at  a  time,  since  the  murder  as  well 
as  previous  to  it,  for  nearly  a  year  these  people  among  whom 
we  have  laboured  for  so  many  years  have  daily  visited  our 
doors,  recounted  the  suffering  they  were  passing  through 
in  loss  of  life  and  property,  in  crowding  into  two  villages, 
and  in  their  attempt  for  mere  existence.  Their  pleas  to 
us  for  redress  and  aid  have  been  wellnigh  unendurable. 


268      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

Their  wretched  condition  has  been  wretchedly  linked  with 
our  own  case.  The  unpunished  attack  upon  them  led  up 
to  our  own  loss;  and  the  punishment  or  non-punishment 
of  our  common  foe  must  equally  affect  us  both.  .  .  . 

From  whatever  standpoint  we  look  at  it,  the  situation  is 
a  critical  one.  Whether  or  no  the  criminals  are  ever  arrested 
still  remains  to  be  seen;  and  whether  if  arrested,  and  exe- 
cuted, quiet  and  security  are  to  be  gained,  or  whether  the 
revengeful  Kurds  will  make  life  insecure  and  difficult  we 
cannot  foretell,  but  we  can  trust  in  Him  who  knoweth  all, 
for  "  They  that  wait  on  the  Lord  shall  not  be  ashamed." 

In  the  midst  of  many  anxieties  on  account  of  the 
work  and  the  oppressed  Christians,  he  yet  rejoiced  this 
spring  in  the  re-establishment  of  his  home.  On  Wed- 
nesday, June  15th,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Bertha 
McConaughy,  who  had  come  out  to  the  station  in  1900. 
The  British  consul  from  Tabriz  was  in  Ururnia  at  the 
time,  and  his  four  Indian  sowars  formed  the  guard 
which  escorted  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Cochran  from  the  city 
out  to  the  college.  This  constituted  the  wedding  jour- 
ney. The  Indian  cavalrymen  were  not  merely  orna- 
mental. The  peril  in  which  he  lived  was  well  known 
to  him,  and  it  was  ever  present  to  his  mind.  Writing 
to  Mr.  Coan,  who  was  in  America  on  furlough,  with 
regard  to  the  long  years  during  which  he  and  his  chil- 
dren had  lived  with.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Coan  and  their 
children,  while  Mrs.  Coan  was  a  mother  to  all,  and 
referring  to  his  new  home  life,  he  added : — 

One  thing  that  makes  it  seem  uncanny  in  a  way  (and 
this  is  confidential)  is  the  constant  danger  I  suppose  I  am 
living  in.  The  threats  are  constant  and  sharp.  Every  one 
seems  to  think  that  if  I  were  out  of  the  way,  the  guilty 
would  go  free,  and  therefore  I  should  be  put  out  of  the  way. 
I  know  that  God  can  prevent  it  if  He  wishes,  and  I  do 
not  feel  a  real  fear,  simply  an  uneasiness  and  real  dis- 


«  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  »  269 

appointment  that  I  should  have  such  enemies.  Yet,  as 
the  Syrians  from  Dasht  say,  people  who  are  ready  to  mob 
arid  kill  all  the  time,  are  not  going  to  have  the  feeling  to 
think  whether  they  have  sometimes  been  kindly  treated, 
if  that  means  that  they  must  give  up  their  wicked  purposes. 
There  is  no  way  of  shirking  the  responsibility  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  even  if  I  were  not  to  do  anything,  and  perhaps  if 
I  had  not  done  anything  to  bring  the  people  to  justice,  I 
would,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  have  the  credit 
of  it. 

In  the  fall  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Clement: — 

URUMIA,  Sunday  evening,  September  25th. — The  last  few 
weeks  there  have  been  a  few  suspicious-looking  Kurds  prowl- 
ing about  between  here  and  the  city,  on  the  road  or  over 
the  walls,  in  the  orchards  along  the  way.  They  have  stopped 
a  good  many  people,  and  have  made  enquiries  regarding 
our  servants.  Once  they  stopped  our  steward,  and  then  let 
him  go,  and  again  a  mountain  man  in  our  employ.  Four 
days  ago  I  was  told  by  one  of  our  helpers  that  a  friendly 
Kurd  had  told  him  that  they  were  men  who  had  undertaken 
to  kill  me,  and  that  I  must  be  told  to  be  on  my  guard. 
I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  true  or  not.  This  Kurd  said 
they  were  the  Sheikh's  men,  but  I  do  not  much  believe  that, 
as  there  would  be  no  advantage  for  him  to  get  rid  of  me, 
and  I  am  rather  useful  to  him.  There  is  hardly  a  week  but 
that  he  writes  me,  asking  for  professional  advice  for  him- 
self and  for  friends  of  his,  and  often  to  get  him  this  and 
that  thing,  which  I  am  able  to  do. 

So  if  any  one  is  after  me,  it  is  said  that  it  is  he,  I  think, 
simply  as  a  cover  to  the  men  that  are  about.  I  reported 
to  the  Governor  that  there  were  men  on  the  road  between 
here  and  the  city,  stopping  our  men  and  others,  and  he 
replied  that  he  had  no  horsemen  to  send  out  to  care  for 
the  road,  and  if  it  was  the  Dasht  Kurds  that  are  sending 
their  men  here,  nothing  could  be  done  to  them  but  to  send 
an  army  against  them,  and  that  he  was  not  provided  with. 
And  so  it  goes;  every  little  while  there  is  some  special 
scare,  and  then  there  is  the  main  trouble  all  the  time  without 
redress.  Apart  from  our  case,  one  that  is  worse  is  the  con- 


270  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

dition  of  all  the  Christians  of  Tergawar.     Their  lot  is  just 
unbearable. 

Meanwhile,  he  went  quietly  on  with  his  work.  The 
cholera  came  again  in  the  fall,  and  kept  him  busy. 
"  There  is  a  regular  stampede  for  the  cholera  anti- 
toxine,"  wrote  Mrs.  Labaree.  "  The  Governor  went 
out  twice  to  the  college  before  he  could  get  up  his 
courage  for  the  ordeal,  and  finally,  at  the  doctor's 
house,  he  called  to  his  servant  in  the  hall,  '  Come  in, 
you  donkey,  and  try  it  first.'  The  servant  protested, 
*  I  would  rather  die,'  but  the  Governor  insisted,  '  I 
shall  not  let  you  die.'  " 

In  his  report  for  the  year  1904,  he  wrote : — 

The  medical  work  of  Urumia  Station  for  the  year  1904 
has  been  heavier  than  usual.  The  following  are  the  statistics 
for  the  year: 

Attendance  at  the  dispensaries  .      .  7727 

Outside  office  patients       ....  3235 

Visits  in  city  and  villages      .     .      .  1218 

Hospital   patients 574 


12,754 

There  have  been  574  patients  treated  during  the  year  in 
the  hospital.  These,  as  in  former  years,  have  been  from 
among  all  classes  and  conditions  of  men;  from  this  plain, 
from  the  mountains,  and  from  the  surrounding  countries. 
One  set  of  men  in  whose  treatment  we  took  a  considerable 
satisfaction,  was  a  company  of  Kurds.  Their  home  is  in 
one  of  the  wildest  gorges  of  Kurdistan,  and  the  chief  of 
that  place,  Sutu  Beg,  holds  undisputed  sway  for  a  long 
distance  about  it.  He  sent  his  nephew  to  me  with  a  letter 
resembling  very  closely  that  which  Naaman  bore  to  the 
King  of  Israel.  It  read  somewhat  as  follows:  "Now  when 
this  letter  is  come  unto  thee,  behold,  I  have  therewith  sent 
Kazim,  my  nephew,  to  thee,  that  thou  mayest  recover  him 
of  his  troubles.  Thou  wilt  return  him  soon  to  me  that  we 


may  all  rejoice  in  his  recovery,  and  praise  God  and  thee." 
Kazim  had  with  him  a  number  of  other  men  of  rank  and 
position,  all  of  whom  were  under  treatment.  When  they 
were  dismissed,  they  went  away  in  a  very  happy  and  grateful 
frame  of  mind.  A  wealthy  Kurd  and  his  son,  from  a  dis- 
trict four  days'  journey  to  the  south  of  us,  was  here  for  a 
time  last  spring,  and  as  he  and  his  men  all  received  speedy 
cures,  they  have  spread  the  news  of  healing  in  our  hospital, 
and  a  number  have  come  to  us  from  their  district  since 
they  returned.  One  old  merchant  has  just  been  sent  up  to 
us  from  this  Ismail  Beg's  village,  who  is  over  eighty,  and 
has  several  chronic  troubles,  and  yet  he  comes,  thinking 
that  youth  will  be  restored,  in  a  measure,  to  him  again.  From 
a  medical  and  surgical  standpoint,  the  year  has  been  a  very 
satisfactory  one,  as  so  large  a  proportion  of  our  patients  have 
been  greatly  helped. 

At  the  College  Commencement  we  graduated  four  medical 
students  who  had  completed  their  course  of  four  years.  This 
class  ranks  well  with  others  that  have  graduated  here.  All 
four  of  the  young  men,  one  a  Moslem,  and  the  other  three 
Syrians,  began  practice  for  themselves  as  soon  as  they  took 
diplomas,  which  I  got  the  Crown  Prince  to  indorse,  as  well 
as  his  chief  native  doctor,  who  boasts  the  title  of  Loghman-ul- 
Mamalik,  or  the  Loghman  of  Kingdoms.  One  of  these  young 
men  went  to  Souj  Bulak,  a  city  in  the  southern  part  of  this 
Province.  While  there  the  cholera  epidemic  visited  the  dis- 
trict, and  he  was  able  to  be  of  much  service  to  the  inhabi- 
tants because  of  his  having  been  invited  by  the  Governor 
to  be  his  family  physician,  and  having  gained  his  confidence, 
he  was  permitted  to  order  such  reforms  in  the  sanitary 
condition  of  the  town  as  to  make  it  better  prepared  to  resist 
the  disease.  The  Governor  secured  for  this  young  man 
from  the  Crown  Prince  the  title  of  "  The  Illustrious  among 
the  Physicians."  As  I  have  pointed  out  at  other  times, 
the  mission  of  teaching  the  medical  science  to  the  young 
men  of  this  nation  here,  and  right  here  in  their  homes,  is 
doing  a  great  deal  to  remove  the  prejudice  that  existed  on 
the  part  of  the  Mohammedan  nobility  towards  this  despised 
and  ignorant  class.  They  find  that  they  are  capable  of 
high  attainments,  and  as  soon  as  they  acquire  this  profes- 
sion they  are  quick  to  remunerate  them  in  elevating  their 


272       JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

social  position,  and  taking  them  as  their  own  confidential 
medical  advisers. 

In  the  outside  medical  work  we  hare  had  many  inter- 
esting patients.  One  was  a  gentleman  of  high  rank  from 
Teheran,  who  has  been  governor  of  two  districts  in  this 
Province  the  last  three  years.  He  was  in  need  of  an  opera- 
tion for  cancer,  and  was  advised  by  the  Tabriz  physician  to 
come  here.  He  arrived  with  his  wife  and  large  retinue 
carriage  and  takhtirawans  (litters).  He  had  over  one  hun- 
dred horses  to  move  his  household.  He  engaged  rooms  in 
the  city,  where  he  kept  house,  and  put  himself  under  my 
care.  The  operation  was  successful,  and  he  gave  a  very 
handsome  feee  for  my  services,  according  to  the  estimate 
of  this  country.  I  spent  the  first  night  with  him,  and  after 
that  saw  him  once  or  twice  daily  until  he  recovered  com- 
pletely and  was  dismissed.  All  through  the  first  night,  and 
many  subsequent  ones,  he  had  four  or  five  men  sit  around 
his  bed  that  was  spread  on  the  floor,  as  usual,  and  knead  his 
muscles  so  that  he  should  sleep.  This  custom  is  very  com- 
mon among  those  who  can  afford  many  attendants.  I  have 
received  almost  weekly  letters  from  him  since  his  departure, 
and  he  is  very  grateful.  His  wife  was  a  very  pleasant,  re- 
fined lady,  and  under  treatment  also.  There  have  been  many 
cases  under  my  care  among  the  nobility  this  year,  rather 
more  than  common,  and  more  than  I  could  well  attend,  but 
it  has  perhaps  well  paid  me  for  the  trouble,  because  of  the 
influence  which  I  could  exert  in  these  homes.  .  .  .  An 
illustration  of  the  other  extreme  of  life  was  a  woman  who 
also  came  from  a  distance,  leaving  her  husband  and  three 
small  children  in  a  pitiable  condition  with  only  God  above 
and  none  below  to  care  for  them.  The  morning  she  left  she 
covered  the  children  in  the  stable  with  the  dried  manure 
used  to  bed  the  animals,  and  came  away,  as  she  expressed  it, 
with  "  only  Heaven  above  them,  and  hell  under  them,  and 
their  stomachs  empty."  The  suffering  of  the  poor  sick 
in  this  country  is  most  pitiful,  and  the  deaths  from  these 
conditions  is  very  heavy,  especially  among  the  children. 
At  best  the  common  people  have  only  a  charcoal  dish  under 
a  low  table  with  a  spread  over  the  latter,  around  which  they 
gather,  drawing  the  spread  over  them  as  far  as  it  will  cover 
them. 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  "  273 

Heavy  as  was  his  medical  work,  however,  what 
caused  him  most  care  was  the  responsibility  which  he 
was  obliged  to  bear  in  connection  with  the  efforts  of 
the  British  and  American  governments  to  punish  the 
murderers  of  Mr.  Daniel  and  Mr.  Labaree,  and  to  es- 
tablish justice.  Two  British  consuls,  Mr.  Wratislaw 
of  Tabriz,  and  Captain  Gough  of  Kermanshah,  and  one 
American  consul,  Dr.  Norton  of  Smyrna,  were  sent  to 
Urumia,  and  did  all  that  men  could  do,  but  after  all, 
the  chief  burden,  of  necessity,  rested  upon  Dr.  Cochran. 
He  had  to  sift  evidence,  and  deal  with  officials,  and 
prepare  statements  for  the  consuls  and  the  Legations, 
and  move  about  freely,  in  constant  exposure  to  reckless 
and  merciless  men.  And  he  could  not  take  it  lightly, 
for  the  interests  that  were  involved  were  the  interests 
for  which  he  had  given  his  life,  the  establishment  of 
righteousness  and  the  protection  of  the  oppressed.  The 
burden  was  too  heavy  for  him,  and  it  was  the  heavier 
because  the  Dasht  Kurds  were  men  for  whom  he  had 
long  worked,  and  whom  he  counted  among  those  that 
he  was  sent  to  help. 

His  fiftieth  birthday  came  on  January  14th,  1905. 
The  peril  that  lurks  at  night  was  near  to  him.  A  few 
days  before  Dr.  Norton  reported : — 

As  but  one  of  numerous  warnings  communicated  during 
the  past  few  months  to  the  resident  Americans,  of  designs 
against  their  lives  on  the  part  of  the  Kurds  from  adjacent 
districts,  I  might  adduce  the  following  message  brought  to 
me  to-day  from  friendly  Syrian  Christians  of  the  village 
of  Hashimawa,  Mergawar  (about  nineteen  miles  from  here). 
These  men  state  that  they  overheard  members  of  a  band  of 
Kurds  and  Persian  outlaws  of  their  district,  reporting  that 
they  had  been  watching  on  the  road  between  the  city  of 
Urumia  and  the  American  Mission  compound  (i.e.,  college 
and  hospital  grounds)  in  order  to  kill,  if  they  had  the 


274  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

opportunity,  Dr.  J.  P.  Cochran,  the  resident  physician,  but 
that  they  failed  to  meet  him.  They  then  attempted  to  enter 
the  college  compound.  One  of  the  number  secured  an 
entrance  by  night  through  an  aqueduct,  and  spent  some  time 
within  the  walls,  hunting  for  Dr.  Cochran.  He  successfully 
dodged  the  watchman  a  while,  but  finally  withdrew  without 
accomplishing  his  purpose,  on  account  of  the  growing  severity 
of  the  cold. 

In  spite  of  shadows  it  was  felt  that  the  occasion  of 
his  fiftieth  birthday  ought  to  be  specially  noticed,  "  so 
all  the  Station,"  writes  Mrs.  Labaree,  "  the  English 
missionaries,  and  Dr.  Norton,  and  Captain  Gough, 
gathered  quietly  in  his  parlour,  and  when  he  came  down 
to  a  family  dinner  he  found  a  circle  of  loving  friends 
who  had  brought  in  a  bountiful  meal  and  many  loving 
greetings.  It  was  a  day  of  particular  trials,  when  a 
series  of  diplomatic  complications  made  our  lookout 
very  dark,  but  according  to  our  custom,  the  fear  and 
anxieties  were  set  aside  for  the  time  being,  and  we  all 
entered  into  the  pleasure  of  the  occasion.  It  was  the 
last  time  that  company  gathered  in  the  doctor's  hos- 
pitable parlour." 

A  week  after  this,  and  later  in  March,  Mrs.  Labaree 
wrote  in  her  journal : — 

Father  Labaree  made  some  calls  at  the  college  this 
P.  M.,  and  found  that  Dr.  Cochran  has  had  more  informa- 
tion about  the  threats  of  the  Kurds  against  him.  Doctor 
always  has  the  shades  drawn  at  night  in  whatever  room  he 
may  be  sitting ;  one  or  two  of  Captain  Gough's  lancers  escort 
him  to  and  from  the  city,  the  entrance  to  the  water  courses 
at  the  college  have  been  barred,  and  various  precautions 
have  been  taken. 

MARCH  21st,  1905. — A  Tergawar  woman,  who  lives  among 
the  Kurds,  tells  of  two  bands  of  them  who  have  come  at 
different  times  to  attack  the  college  and  to  shed  blood. 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  »  275 

One  band  secured  a  ladder,  but  found  it  too  short  for  the 
high  wall,  and  finally  abandoned  the  attempt,  saying  the 
wall  was  so  high  that  if  they  got  in  they  could  not  get 
out  again, 

MARCH  25th. — New  threats  and  warnings  keep  coming 
down  from  the  Kurds.  Dr.  Cochran  was  very  strongly 
warned  not  to  allow  a  single  Kurd  to  come  into  the  college 
compound  on  any  pretext  whatever,  as  they  might  secrete 
themselves  in  order  to  murder  some  one.  He  and  Dr.  Coan 
called  on  the  Governor  to-day,  and  doctor  told  him  the  whole 
state  of  affairs,  and  the  Governor  said  he  was  listening,  and 
would  put  all  these  facts  in  the  "  tub  of  his  mind." 

"  The  pages  of  my  diary,"  writes  Mrs.  Labaree,  "  are 
full  of  the  dangers  and  harassing  perplexities  of  those 
awful  months,  and  of  the  doctor's  wonderful  wisdom, 
courage,  and  tact.  His  utter  weariness  and  heart- 
sickness  used  to  make  us  who  watched  him  feel  fairly 
faint  with  fear  as  to  the  outcome.  One  day,  some 
six  or  eight  months  after  Mr.  Labaree's  death,  doctor 
went  to  see  a  prominent  patient,  who  had  come  from 
Tabriz  for  an  operation  for  cancer,  and,  on  entering  the 

room,  saw,  to  his  dismay ,  the  man  who  had  plotted 

his  death.  It  was  a  situation  to  try  the  greatest 
diplomat  or  the  most  Christlike  character.  Dr. 
Cochran  was  both,  but  he  suffered  intensely  during  that 

interview  when  spent  his  time  in  Oriental 

flattery,  and  assured  his  host  that  if  ever  he  (the  host) 
had  need  of  any  medical  aid  he  would  surely  find 
Dr.  Cochran  the  finest  and  most  skilful  of  physicians. 
The  doctor  told  his  wife  that  never  to  his  dying  day 
should  he  get  over  the  thought  that  his  life  had  been 
so  plotted  against,  and  that  another  had  died  in  his 
stead." 

In  God's  providence,  Dr.  Cochran  was  not  to  die 


276  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

at  the  hands  of  the  Kurds  of  Dasht.  But  neither  was 
he  to  live  to  see  the  end  of  the  troubles  which  had 
darkened  the  last  two  years.  The  strain  of  the  work 
and  of  its  burdens  was  too  much  for  him,  and  the  end 
came  in  the  midsummer,  when  the  vineyards  were  rich 
in  fruitage  and  the  wheat  fields  of  the  Urumia  plain 
were  waving  green,  and  the  long  rows  of  poplars  along 
the  water  courses  made  a  pleasant  shade  for  such  men 
as  could  think  of  pleasure  where  there  was  only  out- 
rage and  oppression.  Neither  he  nor  any  one  else 
apprehended  that  the  end  was  near.  His  letters  during 
the  spring  deal  with  the  local  conditions  and  the 
troubles  which  he  longed  to  see  settled,  and  there  is 
not  one  reference  to  any  personal  danger  or  to  himself. 
In  April  he  escorted  Mrs.  Labaree  and  her  two  children 
and  his  daughter,  Lillie,  to  Tabriz,  and  on  into  Russia, 
on  their  way  home,  and  then  returned  to  Tabriz  on 
business  connected  with  his  unceasing  endeavour  to 
have  quietness  and  re-establish  order.  From  Tabriz 
he  wrote: — 

TABRIZ,  April  26th,  1904. — Mrs.  Labaree  made  the  journey 
from  Urumia  to  Tabriz  very  comfortably  on  the  whole.  A 
week  before  our  party  crossed  the  Aras,  a  boat  load  full  of 
Persians  were  drowned.  About  fifty  of  them  got  into  the 
little  boat,  and  failing  to  make  the  island,  owing  to  the 
swiftness  of  the  current  and  the  weight  of  the  load,  the  boat 
was  swept  out  into  the  channel  of  the  main  river.  This 
frightened  the  passengers,  and  one  of  the  boatmen  had  just 
thrown  himself  into  the  river  at  the  lower  point  of  the 
island  with  a  rope,  hoping  to  make  the  shore,  and  to  fasten 
the  boat,  so  all  the  passengers  did  the  same  thing,  but  the 
rapid  stream  bore  them  down,  drowning  all  that  went  over- 
board. Only  three  were  saved.  Two  of  them  had  remained 
in  the  boat,  and  one  of  them  had  made  the  island.  When 
our  party  crossed  there  was  a  strong  wind  blowing  down 
the  river,  and  I  was  very  anxious  for  them  because  they 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "  277 

insisted  in  putting  a  number  of  passengers  in  the  boat, 
aside  from  the  baggage,  and  also  because  they  would  not 
accept  my  suggestion  to  lay  the  trunks  on  the  bottom  of 
the  boat  instead  of  piling  them  on  top  of  each  other  as 
they  did,  and  then  having  one  man  sit  on  the  top  one. 
They  almost  made  the  lower  point  of  the  island,  and  had 
the  sailor  had  his  outside  clothes  off  so  that  he  should  not 
be  delayed  in  throwing  himself  in  to  carry  the  painter  to  the 
shore  they  would  have  made  the  island  easily,  but  the  wind 
and  the  current  took  them  past  it,  out  into  the  open  river. 
It  was  a  moment  of  the  deepest  anxiety,  but  fortunately 
every  one  sat  perfectly  still,  and  although  the  boatsides 
were  within  six  inches  of  the  water  the  boat  was  safely 
driven  by  the  current  to  the  Persian  shore  again,  but  far 
down  below  the  point  of  departure.  After  towing  it  up, 
we  sent  the  loads  over  alone,  and  then  only  our  party,  both 
of  which  got  across  safely.  Returning,  I  came  in  two  days, 
and  so  was  here  for  Easter.  We  do  not  yet  know  how  our 
travellers  fared  in  Russia,  for  the  trains  are  irregular,  and 
everything  more  or  less  upset.  They  may  be  able  to  take 
a  construction  train  from  a  point  two  stations  beyond 
Nakhchivan,  and  thus  shorten  the  journey  by  post.  Affairs 
here  are  in  a  bad  state.  Bread  is  up  to  famine  prices,  and 
the  new  Governor  is  making  the  effort  to  procure  wheat, 
purchasing  it  himself,  and  selling  it  to  the  breadmakers 
at  a  much  lower  rate,  so  that  they  can  give  it  to  the  people 
at  terms  that  are  fairly  reasonable.  This  may  make  others 
sell  their  storehouses  of  wheat  at  lower  rates.  This  Gov- 
ernor is  a  strong  man,  and  we  hope  for  more  peace  and 
quiet  on  the  border,  once  he  gets  in  full  command.  The 
Crown  Prince  is  to  be  regent  in  the  absence  of  his  father. 
There  is  some  doubt,  however,  about  the  departure  to  Europe 
of  the  Shah. 

is  still  here.  He  is  hoping  to  be  allowed  to  return 

to  Urumia,  but  the  British  government  has  secured  his  re- 
moval from  there,  and  they  are  not  likely  to  let  go  until  he 
is  banished  to  Meshed.  .  .  . 

There  are  two  of  the  implicated  chiefs  with  the  Sayid, 
and  a  number  of  the  servants  of  the  former  in  Teheran  still. 
Meanwhile,  the  Kurds  in  Urumia  are  desperate  because  these 
are  held  in  the  capital,  and  they  are  threatening  all  sorts 


278      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

of  terrible  things.  The  condition  there  is  quite  intolerable, 
and  if  they  are  not  to  be  crushed  there  is  nothing  to  do  but 
to  come  to  some  terms  with  them.  There  is  almost  no  hope 
that  a  punitive  expedition  can  be  undertaken  against  them, 
with  the  present  attitude  of  the  government. 

We  are  planning  to  return  to  Urumia  by  way  of  the  Lake 
to  avoid  the  necessity  of  a  large  and  expensive  escort.  We 
have  asked  that  a  boat  be  ready  on  this  side  two  full  day's 
journey  from  here,  on  the  5th.  We  may,  by  good  chance, 
be  on  the  water  only  a  day  or  two,  or  we  may  be  as  many 
as  ten.  We  hope  not  to  be  so  long  on  the  Lake,  for  we  would 
starve  and  perish  for  want  of  water.  (Urumia  Lake  is  in- 
tensely salt.) 

I  have  been  kept  busy  here  with  calls  on  the  sick  and 
receiving  the  sick,  aside  from  the  time  given  to  other  social 
duties  with  the  consuls  and  some  of  the  other  Euro- 
peans. .  .  . 

On  arriving  here  I  find  Mr.  Wratislaw  has  come  to  the 
same  conclusion  that  we  had  arrived  at,  independently  of 
him,  namely,  that  since  there  is  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Kurds  are  not  going  to  be  thoroughly  punished, 
we  had  better  come  to  some  terms  with  them,  for  the  present 
condition  of  affairs  in  Urumia  is  intolerable  and  fraught 
with  danger  to  all  of  us  and  to  our  people.  .  .  . 

The  British  government,  as  you  know,  have  from  the  first 

insisted  upon  the  removal  of  .  They  have  succeeded, 

after  a  year's  effort,  in  getting  him  driven  out  of  Urumia. 
He  is  here  in  Tabriz,  and  thoroughly  humbled.  The  two 
leading  mujtahids  of  this  place  have  sent  a  telegram  to  the 
King  and  the  Crown  Prince,  begging  that  he  be  released 

and  be  allowed  to  return  to  his  home.  does  not  hope 

for  much  from  this.  He  is  at  a  large  expense  daily,  and 
is  commanded  by  the  Governor-General  to  go  on  to  Teheran. 
Mr.  Wratislaw  now  tells  me  that  he  has  reason  to  believe 
that  the  Legations  will  not  succeed  in  keeping  him  away 
from  Urumia  long,  and  asks  if  we  had  not  better  intercede 
in  his  behalf,  and  let  him  go  back  from  here.  We  proposed 
this  at  one  time  when  we  feared  that  he  would  be  taken  to 
the  capital  and  then  allowed  to  return  in  a  spirit  to  do 
much  worse  for  us  than  if  he  had  not  gone,  but  Mr.  Wratis- 
law would  not  listen  to  it.  We  in  Urumia  feel  that  we 


«  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  "  279 

had  much  better  appear  to  be  the  ones  to  get  him  pardoned 
and  returned  from  here  than  to  have  him  secure  his  return 
in  any  other  way.  I  have  been  asked,  therefore,  to  stay  on 
here  another  week  until  we  shall  get  instructions  from  the 
British  Legation,  and  if  it  seems  best  still  to  do  so,  to  give 
him  the  opportunity  to  come  to  the  British  consulate,  and 
in  the  presence  of  other  Persians,  make  his  apologies  and 
promises,  and  I  will  intercede  in  his  behalf  in  a  formal  way, 
and  we  will  let  him  return  to  Urumia.  At  first  glance  this 
all  may  appear  like  receiving  much  less  than  the  original 
demands.  It  is  less,  but  it  is  better  than  to  get  nothing 
more,  and  to  leave  matters  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  con- 
dition. At  the  same  time,  much  has  been  done.  The  Sayid 
is  in  prison,  two  noted  chiefs  who  have  had  much  to  do 
with  the  murder  or  the  affairs  connected  with  it  ever  since 
that  event  are  also  under  arrest  in  Teheran;  this  very  in- 
fluential man  has  been  removed  from  Urumia,  notwithstand- 
ing the  fact  that  every  effort  has  been  put  forth  to  save 
him  by  his  people  and  by  the  Crown  Prince,  and  a  large 
indemnity  has  been  paid  over,  and  the  late  Governor  has 
been  dismissed,  and  is  now  an  exile.  .  .  . 

Unless  the  Legations  are  going  to  undertake  to  keep 

away  for  a  long  time,  it  is  better  for  us  to  step  in  and  act 
as  mediators.  He  is  well  aware  now  that  there  is  another 
power  beside  Russia  and  Turkey  and  Persia  that  he  must 
consider  when  he  acts  too  independently.  He  is  here  with 
about  fifty  men,  and  their  daily  expense  is  heavy,  and  they 
are  out  of  funds,  while  he  is  not  making  anything,  of  course. 
I  have,  at  the  consul's  suggestion,  let  Majd-i-Sultaneh  in- 
form him  that  I  am  trying  to  get  the  consul  to  pardon  his 
offence  and  to  let  him  return  from  here,  at  the  same  time 
that  the  British  Legation  must  be  consulted,  and  that  it 
will  take  some  time,  and  it  will  also  depend,  of  course,  on 
the  assurances  of  being  friendly,  and  of  his  making  apologies 
at  the  consulate,  etc.  .  .  . 

URUMIA,  July  17th.  To  the  American  Minister. — I  have 
the  great  pleasure  to  be  able  to  report  that  the  condition  of 
things  in  and  about  Urumia  has  changed  very  materially 
the  past  two  months  since  the  arrival  of  this  Governor. 
He  has  his  cavalry  out  on  the  different  roads  day  and  night, 


280      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

and  wherever  a  robbery  is  committed  he  follows  it  right  up, 
and  punishes  the  culprits,  returning  the  stolen  goods,  or 
herds,  or  cattle.  He  has  given  written  orders  to  many  vil- 
lages along  the  Kurdish  border  to  kill  without  hesitation 
any  Kurds  who  enter  the  villages  as  thieves  or  robbers,  and 
that  he  will  give  those  doing  this  a  large  reward.  He  has 
repeatedly  sent  threats  to  the  Dasht  Kurdish  chiefs,  and  has 
several  times  punished  their  servants.  Since  we  returned 
from  Tabriz,  none  of  these  chiefs  have  dared  to  come  near 
the  city,  and  it  is  seldom  that  their  servants  are  seen.  The 
recent  execution  of  Jaffar  Agha,  the  noted  highway  robber 
and  plunderer  of  Salmas,  one  of  the  Shekoik  chiefs,  although 
done  in  a  most  bungling  manner,  has  had  a  good  effect 
upon  the  Kurds  of  the  whole  border.  The  quiet  we  are  en- 
joying now  is  another  proof  that  any  strong  Governor,  if 
he  be  allowed  to  do  so,  can  with  very  little  outside  help  keep 
the  Kurds  under  control  if  he  chooses  to  do  so.  The  only 
force  at  the  Governor's  command,  outside  his  own  servants, 
are  seventy-five  horsemen. 

At  this  time  he  wrote  his  last  hospital  report,  not 
summarizing  the  year's  work — for  the  year  was  not 
completed — but  drawing  pictures  of  a  few  of  the  cases 
which  he  had  under  his  care: — 

JULY  10th,  1905. — Just  now  we  have  in  the  hospital  one  of 
the  noted  cavalry  officers  of  the  Province  of  Azerbaijan.  He, 
with  his  retinue  of  companions  and  servants,  occupy  three 
rooms  devoted  to  them,  while  a  little  kitchen  is  given  up 
to  the  use  of  his  cooks.  He  is  the  chief  of  a  tribe  of  brave 
people,  Mohammedans,  liring  five  days'  journey  to  the  south 
of  us.  His  people  are  taxed  by  requiring  of  them  350 
horsemen  to  be  ready  at  the  command  of  the  government 
for  any  service  demanded  of  them  in  the  Province  or  outside 
of  it.  The  people  of  his  tribe  can  easily  call  1,000  good 
horsemen,  well  armed,  to  war  at  any  time.  He  is  suffering 
from  articular  rheumatism.  His  mullah,  or  ecclesiastical 
adviser,  is  also  under  treatment,  as  is  his  brother-in-law. 
So,  too,  most  of  his  seven  servants,  who  are  always  with 
him,  are  taking  medicine  for  slight  troubles.  His  horses  we 
could  not  accommodate,  so  the  hostlers  keep  them  in  town, 


«  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "  281 

and  they  are  brought  out  every  day  or  two  for  this  general 
to  take  a  slow  ride  about  the  country.  He,  with  most  of 
his  retinue,  came  into  church  last  Sunday,  and  we  have 
the  chance  to  talk  to  him  and  his  people  a  great  deal  about 
our  religion  and  Christ  as  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 

Another  case,  from  a  very  different  class  of  society,  is  a 
Kurd  and  his  son  three  years  old.  The  father  requires  an 
operation  on  his  eyes ;  his  son  had  stone  in  the  bladder,  which 
I  have  removed.  This  couple  came  from  a  long  way  off,  too. 
The  father  felt  that  it  was  a  very  risky  business  to  commit 
himself  and  his  son  to  a  foreign  doctor,  but  both  had 
suffered  so  much,  and  his  son  especially  had  been  so  great 
a  burden  day  and  night  to  his  parents^  that  they  decided 
that  I  could  not  "  any  more  than  kill  them  anyway,"  and 
so  he  came  here.  He  is  one  of  the  most  grateful  and  happy 
patients  I  have  ever  had,  for  he  is  already  helped  by  medi- 
cine, and  he  sees,  almost  for  the  first  time  in  a  year,  his  son 
absolutely  comfortable.  He  says  he  will  bring  his  son  back 
to  be  a  Christian,  and  if  we  will  accept  him,  too,  he  wishes 
to  belong  to  our  faith  and  to  share  the  blessings  which  he 
finds  to  be  the  inheritance  of  Christians. 

There  are  two  Kurds  here  who  have  just  undergone 
operations  for  cataract.  They  are  both  from  Erbil,  near 
ancient  Nineveh,  and  the  modern  city  on  the  ruins  of 
Arbela,  where  Alexander  last  met  the  Persian  armies. 
Each  of  these  came  by  a  different  route,  and  each  brought 
a  man  to  be  eyes  for  him.  One  of  them,  a  well-to-do  man, 
first  visited  the  nearest  preacher  we  have  to  his  home,  and 
got  a  letter  to  me  from  him.  Then  he  travelled  eight  days 
more,  or  eleven  from  Erbil,  to  the  seat  of  the  Christian 
Patriarch,  and  there  got  him  to  write  me  a  letter,  asking 
me  to  do  what  I  could  for  him,  and  finally  he  visited  a 
noted  Kurd  not  far  from  here,  and  brought  the  last  letter 
from  him ;  and  so,  armed  with  these  documents,  he  presented 
himself  to  me  in  true  Oriental  style  of  doing  work  through 
intermediaries.  The  other  man  had  a  longer  and  harder 
journey,  was  robbed  twice  by  other  Kurds,  and  several 
times  travelled  by  night,  and  hid  with  his  companions  by 
day  in  the  rocks  on  the  moutains.  Both  will  have  their  eye- 
sight restored,  so  that  they  say  they  are  already  able  to 
forget  all  the  trials  and  perils  of  the  long  way. 


282  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

One  Nestorian  came  to  us  so  seriously  wounded  that  we 
did  not  think  that  he  had  long  to  remain  in  this  world. 
He  was  returning  from  Russia  in  a  large  company  of 
Christians,  and  had  come  to  within  thirty  miles  of  home 
when  the  caravan  was  stopped  by  government  guards  who 
demanded  money  of  them  for  safe  transit.  The  guards  were 
very  rough,  and  took  large  sums  of  money  from  many  of 
them.  When  one  of  them  demanded  a  larger  sum  of  this 
man  he  made  objections,  and,  without  further  delay,  the 
guard  raised  his  rifle  and  shot  him,  the  ball  passing  into 
the  body  at  the  armpit,  and  passing  through  the  trunk, 
made  its  exit  through  the  lowest  rib  on  the  opposite  side. 
This  man,  after  a  long  and  weary  period,  recovered. 

There  are  three  men,  Mohammedans,  who  have  come  from 
a  Province  seven  days'  journey  from  us.  Two  of  them  are 
almost  blind,  with  old  neglected  diseases,  and  have  stumbled 
along,  barefooted,  knocking  against  nearly  all  the  stones 
on  the  road,  one  would  think  from  the  condition  of  their 
feet.  The  third  insists  that  he  swallowed  a  large  snake 
whose  colour  and  size  he  describes  minutely,  and  says  he 
has  as  his  witnesses  the  whole  population  of  his  village 
who  came  out  to  see  the  calamity  when  the  snake  was  half 
way  in.  He  says  the  majority  advised  him  to  swallow  him 
rather  than  to  pull  him  out.  I  have  at  last  made  him  be- 
lieve that  he  has  more  snakes  in  his  head  than  in  his 
stomach,  and  so  he  is  cheerful  now,  and  likely  to  go  back 
soon  in  good  condition. 

Another  Mohammedan,  a  lad  sixteen  years  old,  has  had 
to  have  his  arm  amputated  near  the  shoulder.  He  was  herd- 
ing the  village  cattle  with  his  father,  and  was  carelessly 
sitting  on  the  back  of  a  buffalo  when  the  animal  took 
fright  and  he  fell  off,  hitting  a  stone,  which  broke  his  arm. 
The  village  bonesetter  put  it  up,  but  bound  it  so  tightly 
that  gangrene  set  in,  and  the  whole  arm  was  destroyed, 
necessitating  its  amputation.  We  have  four  or  five  very 
serious  cases  in  the  hospital,  all  of  them  the  result  of  the 
practice  of  these  ignorant  and  rough  bonesetters.  One  a 
disorganized  knee-joint;  another  a  destroyed  elbow-joint;  a 
third  is  seriously  injured  below  the  knee. 

There  is  a  station  of  cavalry  not  far  from  our  hospital, 
from  which  one  of  the  men  has  come  to  us  with  an  eye 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "  283 

trouble  that  has  required  an  operation  on  it.  This  man  has 
to  go  daily  to  see  whether  his  horse  is  cared  for  by  his 
companions.  None  of  these  men  are  paid  anything  by  the 
government,  either  for  their  own  food  or  for  the  keep  of 
their  horses,  except  at  long  intervals,  so  that  they  are  forced 
to  forage  for  themselves.  Our  patient  says  that  we  have 
made  him  very  uncomfortable  in  helping  himself  to  clover 
for  his  horse,  and  in  forcibly  taking  cherries  and  mulberries 
and  cucumbers  from  those  who  are  raising  them  around  here, 
and  yet  what  can  he  do?  All  that  he  brought  with  him  of 
food  and  money  has  been  used  up,  and  there  are  no  pros- 
pects of  getting  anything  from  the  government.  So  often 
the  soldiers  of  this  country  are  merely  legalized  robbers, 
because  they  are  not  cared  for  by  the  government  1 

This  man  has  promised  not  to  molest  any  of  the  neigh- 
bours in  our  vicinity,  but  he  says  we  must  not  make  him 
promise  to  keep  all  of  his  men  out  of  the  fields  and  orchards 
that  are  at  some  distance  from  us.  In  the  women's  wards 
there  are  diseases  of  all  kinds,  and  the  patients  have  come 
from  near  and  far.  There  are  Armenians  and  Kurds  and 
Nestorians  at  present.  One  woman  is  under  treatment  who 
has  been  in  her  distant  village  ever  since  she  was  married, 
immediately  after  graduating  from  our  Mission  Seminary 
in  the  second  graduating  class.  She,  too,  has  just  been 
operated  on  for  cataract,  and  I  hope  she  will  get  good 
enough  sight  to  enable  her  to  read  the  Scriptures  to  her 
neighbours,  as  she  has  done  all  these  years. 

His  last  letter  to  the  Board  was  written  on  July 
24th,  1905:— 

The  hospital  is  booming,  and  has  been  ever  since  our 
return  from  Tabriz,  to  make  up  for  the  absence.  The 
schools  and  higher  institutions  have  all  had  their  closing 
exercises,  all  but  the  Moslem  school,  which  closes  this  week. 
•We  have  just  purchased  a  yard  for  this  promising  institu- 
tion with  the  money  given  by  Mrs.  Labaree. 

To-night  the  great  Sheikh  Mohammed  Sadik  of  Nochea, 
Turkey,  has  sent  his  daughter  and  another  lady  of  high 
rank  to  the  hospital.  I  have  been  treating  them  unsatis- 
factorily by  correspondence. 


284  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

The  same  day  he  wrote  to  Mr.  Wratislaw:— 

The  Prince  is  doing  splendidly  as  a  Governor,  better 
than  he  ever  did  before,  and  the  country,  as  a  whole,  is 
in  a  more  quiet  condition  than  it  has  been  for  a  long  time. 
We  see  nothing  of  the  Dasht  Kurds,  either  the  chiefs  or 
their  servants.  They  are  chased  beyond  the  borders  of 
Urumia  proper  whenever  his  men  know  of  their  being 
around.  He  has  punished  severely  a  number  of  their  serv- 
ants, and  has  demanded  and  secured,  also,  stolen  property 
that  any  of  them  has  dared  to  take.  So  everywhere  his  men 
are  on  the  watch  for  robbers  and  thieves,  and  the  country 
is  remarkably  safe  and  quiet.  It  is  as  different  from  the 
condition  of  things  when  he  arrived  as  can  be. 

Thursday  last,  on  a  pretence,  the  Jews  were  attacked  in 
their  shops  and  home,  and  the  bazars  closed  at  the  instiga- 
tion of  three  of  the  rather  less  notorious  mullahs.  Imme- 
diately on  hearing  of  it,  the  Prince  mounted  a  horse,  and 
with  such  men  as  were  at  hand,  galloped  to  the  bazar, 
demanded  that  the  bazars  be  reopened,  promised  protection 
to  the  Jews,  and  proclaimed  himself  alone  the  Governor 
of  the  town.  By  the  new  telephone  lines  all  over  the  city, 
he  ordered  out  all  the  prominent  military  officers  with  the 
men  they  could  rally  to  patrol  the  bazars  and  the  Jewish 
quarter,  and  to  make  themselves  seen  of  all  for  a  couple 
of  hours  or  longer. 

I  was  at  the  Bala  Mujtahid's  when  the  Governor  came 
into  the  bazars,  and  later  I  saw  every  one  of  our  chief 
officers,  each  with  his  retinue  of  men,  and  with  them  the 
100  Chardowli  cavalry,  who  are  stationed  between  the  city 
and  our  premises  out  here,  parading  the  disturbed  portions 
of  the  town. 

I  have  seen  many  such  closures  of  the  bazars,  but  I  have 
never  witnessed  a  Governor  act  so  promptly  and  energetically, 
and  quiet  the  trouble  so  quickly.  There  are  soldiers  sta- 
tioned throughout  the  Christian  and  Jewish  quarters.  Fri- 
day night,  after  bedtime,  when  no  one  was  suspecting,  he 
visited  all  the  patrol  stations  in  person. 

These  letters  were  written  three  days  after  his  last 
illness  had  begun.  On  July  21st,  1905,  after  a  delight- 


«  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "   285 

ful  Communion  Service  among  the  missionaries,  he 
spoke  of  having  a  fever  and  terrible  aching.  For  sev- 
eral days  he  would  pay  no  attention  to  it,  for  he  had 
a  very  serious  case  of  typhoid  fever  under  his  care, 
one  of  the  leading  Mohammedan  ecclesiastics  of  the 
city.  Under  his  firm  sense  of  duty  he  insisted  on  going 
into  the  city  each  day  to  see  his  patient,  the  Bala 
Mujtahid,  until  he  fell  in  a  faint  in  his  yard,  and  was 
compelled  to  give  up.  Even  then  he  declined  any  med- 
ical assistance.  He  said,  with  a  smile,  that  he  would 
look  after  himself  until  he  lost  his  senses,  and  then 
others  might  be  called.  He  diagnosed  his  complaint  as 
"  break-bone  fever,"  and  felt  certain  that  it  would  not 
be  typhoid.  But  he  grew  worse,  and  at  the  end  of  a 
fortnight  the  available  physicians  declared  that  it  must 
be  typhoid.  Only  then  he  consented  to  the  Station's 
telegraphing  to  Tabriz  for  Dr.  Vanneman.  Dr.  Van- 
neman  did  not  delay  an  instant,  but  came  through  with 
the  mail  wagon  in  two  days,  and  took  charge  of  the 
case.  All  that  skill  and  care  could  do  was  done,  and 
on  August  13th  the  fever  was  gone,  and  there  was  some 
hope  of  his  recovery,  although  he  himself  foresaw  what 
the  end  must  be.  It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the 
whole  of  Urumia,  plain  and  city,  with  its  Moslem  and 
Christian  people  alike,  were  hoping  and  praying  for 
him.  On  the  day  that  the  fever  broke,  Dr.  Coan 
wrote : — 

Nothing  has  so  strongly  brought  out  the  force  of  his 
character,  and  the  universal  esteem  in  which  this  most  re- 
markable man  is  held  as  this  illness.  One  can  say,  without 
fear  of  exaggeration,  that  the  whole  plain  of  Urumia  is  at 
present  plunged  into  deepest  grief  and  solicitude,  and  that 
scarcely  anything  else  is  talked  of  than  his  sickness.  Last 
Sunday  nearly  all  of  our  congregations  gave  up  their  regular 
services,  and  with  strong  supplications  and  weeping,  plead 


286  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

with  God  for  his  life.  Everywhere,  all  over  this  plain,  Mos- 
lems as  well  as  Christians  are  begging  to  spare  his  life. 
Our  servant  came  from  the  bazars  yesterday,  and  said  that 
he  was  everywhere  stopped  by  merchants  and  traders — 
Moslems — who  most  anxiously  inquired  for  the  "  Hakim 
Bashi's"  health.  Some,  with  tears  in  their  eyes,  said, 
"  Would  that  God  would  take  us  and  spare  him." 

Last  week  an  unprecedented  rain  and  hail  storm  came  up, 
destroying  thousands  of  dollars'  worth  of  crops.  The  to- 
bacco fields  and  vegetable  gardens,  orchards,  and  vineyards 
that  lay  in  its  track  were  left  completely  ruined.  As  some 
were  commiserated  with  on  their  losses,  they  said,  "  That  is 
nothing;  may  all  our  fields  and  crops  be  a  sacrifice  to  God 
if  only  He  will  spare  our  doctor."  It  is  really  marvellous 
what  a  hold  this  quiet,  undemonstrative  man  has  on  this 
whole  country.  .  .  . 

To  face  the  terrible  calamity  of  his  possible  death  has 
shown  us  as  never  before  what  the  man  has  been  in  God's 
providence  to  this  country  and  its  people. 

And  Mrs.  Cochran  wrote: — 

It  is  touching  to  see  how  deeply  all  classes  feel  concerned 
in  his  illness.  From  the  Governor,  who  sends  a  messenger 
three  times  a  day  to  inquire,  down  to  the  poorest  Moslem, 
who  brings  a  basket  of  his  first  fruits  of  grapes  or  peaches, 
all  come  to  show  sympathy  and  love. 

A  little  boy  in  the  hospital  says  repeatedly,  if  only  he  and 
his  mother  who  is  attending  him  could  die  in  place  of  the 
Hakim  Sahib,  he  would  be  happy. 

Another  said  to  me,  "  Would  that  the  whole  Syrian  nation 
should  die  rather  than  the  Hakim  Sahib."  Some  one  ex- 
pressed such  a  sentiment  to  the  doctor's  son,  Joseph,  and  he 
replied  practically,  "Why  should  he  live  if  they  died?  For 
whom  would  he  work  ?  " 

The  two  little  girls  of  Dr.  Pera,  the  native  assistant 
of  the  hospital,  were  seen  by  their  mother  in  a  corner  of 
the  room,  sobbing  and  acting  rather  strangely.  She  asked 
them  what  they  were  doing,  and  they  said,  "Praying  for 
the  Hakim  Sahib  to  get  well." 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "  287 

But  he  was  not  to  get  well.  The  fever  had  gone, 
but  his  heart  and  other  organs  had  borne  too  great 
a  strain.  The  hard  work  and  overwhelming  burdens 
that  he  had  carried,  work  and  burdens  that  he  could 
not  do  and  bear  perfunctorily,  but  that  ate  into  his 
life,  had  sapped  his  vitality,  and  he  grew  weaker, 
mercifully  without  pain,  until  at  three  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  August  18th,  1905,  the  true  soul  went 
quietly  to  its  reward.  In  the  days  of  his  delirium  he 
had  often  been  thinking  of  the  Kurds,  and  once  he 
spoke  about  Heaven,  and  added,  "  And  there  will  be 
no  Kurds  there."  In  the  land  to  which  he  was  going, 
he  was  thinking,  "  the  wicked  cease  from  troubling, 
and  the  weary  are  at  rest."  He  would  be  beyond  all 
Kurdish  plots  and  hatreds  and  fears  then.  But  there 
were  Kurds  there,  some  of  them  waiting  for  him  to 
welcome  him  whither  he  had  guided  them. 

"  Two  wives  of  a  nobleman  have  called  upon  me," 
wrote  Mrs.  Cochran,  "  dressed  in  mourning  for  Joe, 
and  told  me  that  all  the  Moslems  in  the  city  were 
wearing  mourning  for  him.  The  Syrians  wept  day  and 
night,  and  held  memorial  services  in  their  churches,  as 
they  had  before  held  special  services  of  prayer,  and 
many  had  fasted  and  prayed  for  days  before,  that  his 
life  might  be  spared.  A  rugged  Kurd  came  yesterday, 
saying  if  the  sahibs  were  not  here  he  must  see  me, 
and  he  wept  with  sobs  that  shake  a  strong  man's  frame, 
and  told  how  on  one  hand  he  had  saved  his  life,  and 
on  the  other  he  had  saved  his  soul.  He  had  worked 
three  years  over  him  in  the  hospital  for  a  wound  he 
had,  and  while  here  he  had  been  converted." 

All  the  Moslems  were  not,  of  course,  wearing  mourn- 
ing for  him,  but  to  say  that  sorrow  filled  the  whole  city 
and  plain  is  to  speak  soberly. 


288  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

For  days  [wrote  the  Rev.  R.  M.  Labaree,  who  had  re- 
signed his  church  in  America  to  come  out  to  take  his 
brother's  place]  the  Governor  and  the  principal  men  of 
TJrumia  had  been  sending  around  men  to  inquire  as  to  his 
condition;  missionaries,  and  every  one  connected  with  us 
were  repeatedly  stopped  in  the  streets  by  total  strangers  to 
be  asked  in  regard  to  him.  That  night  all  the  people  in 
the  college  yards  assembled  about  the  house,  weeping,  and 
slipped  up  quietly  to  get  one  more  glimpse  of  the  face  they 
loved  so  well  as  he  lay  on  his  bed  unconsciously  breathing 
out  his  life.  And  when  the  end  came  every  one  felt  in  all 
this  city  that  he  had  lost  a  personal  friend — and  this  in 
every  walk  of  life,  from  the  Governor,  who  burst  into  tears 
on  hearing  the  news,  to  the  poorest  beggar,  two  of  whom  on 
the  day  of  the  funeral  threw  themselves  upon  the  ground 
at  the  foot  of  the  casket,  and  in  true  Oriental  fashion  beat 
their  heads  upon  the  ground  until  they  were  forcibly  re- 
moved. It  was  this  sense  of  personal  loss  on  the  part  of 
hundreds  of  every  nationality  and  grade  of  life  that  was  to 
me  the  most  impressive  thing  that  I  ever  encountered  at  a 
funeral  service.  What  sort  of  man  was  this  that  could  so 
impress  himself  upon  high  and  low,  upon  Nestorian  of 
every  form  of  faith,  upon  Persian,  Armenian,  Jew,  and 
even  Kurd,  as  his  own  personal  friend.  And  I  could  not 
but  think  how  cheap  would  have  been  the  reputation  and 
wealth  that  doctor  could  have  easily  attained  in  the  home- 
land compared  with  the  love  and  the  trust  and  the  almost 
worship  that  he  has  won  here  in  Persia. 


The  funeral  services  were  held  at  the  college  and 
hospital  compound,  without  the  city.  After  a  simple, 
private  service  in  the  house,  the  body  was  borne  by 
six  of  his  former  medical  pupils,  now  men  of  influence 
in  the  community,  down  the  long  avenue  of  trees 
toward  the  lower  garden  gate,  where  a  platform  had 
been  erected.  All  ostentation  was  avoided.  Every- 
thing was  in  the  same  modest  and  undemonstrative 
spirit  characteristic  of  his  life,  though  it  was  not  easy 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "  289 

to  restrain  the  Oriental  expressions  natural  to  the 
people. 

But  [wrote  one  of  the  new  missionaries,  Miss  Mary 
Fleming,  now  Mrs.  R.  M.  Labaree,  who  had  been  graduated 
at  Vassar  in  1902,  and  had  gone  out  in  1904  to  Persia]  what 
a  service  of  tribute  it  was,  that  service  of  honour  to  the 
almost  worshipped  "  Hakim  Sahib."  There  was  singing, 
prayer  by  Dr.  Labaree,  Scripture-reading  by  our  chief  Kasha, 
and  a  glowing  address  on  ministering,  and  Dr.  Cochran  as  a 
minister,  by  Mr.  Shedd,  followed  by  words  of  love  and  praise 
and  sorrow  from  three  Kashas,  two  doctors,  a  member  of  the 
English  Mission,  Mar  Eleeya,  bishop  of  the  Russians,  and 
Mar  Tuma,  bishop  of  the  Chaldeans. 

What  a  tribute,  and  what  a  scene!  The  avenue  of  white- 
pillared  sycamores  arching  sixty  feet  overhead,  the  sobbing 
men,  women,  and  children — the  central  mass  Syrians,  the 
women  in  white  or  black  head-dresses,  the  men  bareheaded, 
grave;  near  the  platform,  the  Russian  ecclesiastics  in  black 
robes,  towering  black  hats,  with  beads  in  hand,  and  chains, 
and  holy  pictures  around  their  necks;  and  the  Chaldeans, 
the  underlings  in  white,  the  chief  in  a  black  cerise-bordered 
robe  and  broad  purple  girdle.  Around  the  edge  was  a  crowd 
of  rugged  Christians,  Moslems,  mountaineers,  and  Kurds,  and 
on  the  Shedd  balcony  the  Russian  consul,  telegrapher,  chief 
of  post  and  customs,  and  Persian  noblemen. 

At  the  close  of  the  two  hours'  service  the  body,  surrounded 
by  chanting  men,  according  to  the  Syrian  custom,  was  borne 
back  in  front  of  the  house,  where  the  people  who  had  trudged 
from  all  over  the  plain  to  honour  the  dead  were  allowed  to 
file  by  for  a  last  look  at  the  face  of  their  "father,  Hakim 
Sahib." 

While  this  was  being  done,  we  all  went  to  Mrs.  Coan's 
home  for  a  bite  of  lunch  to  sustain  us  for  the  ten  miles  of 
ride  to  and  from  Seir,  where  the  doctor  was  to  be  laid  to 
rest  in  the  little  Mission  graveyard  on  the  mountainside. 
At  last  we  set  out,  and  you  can  imagine  the  four  carriages, 
headed  by  Dr.  Coan's  carriage  bearing  the  body,  curving  by 
the  college  wall,  driving  down  the  stony  river  bed,  splashing 
through  the  channels,  then  turning  into  the  Seir  road,  and 
after  a  long,  straight  stretch,  winding  up  through  the  foot- 


290      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

hills  and  up  the  long  last  slope  to  the  village.  But  we  were 
not  alone — the  Russian  consul  with  his  Cossacks,  and  some 
Persian  gentlemen  rode  halfway,  until,  with  thanks  for 
their  courtesy,  they  were  urged  to  return;  and  there  were 
guards  from  the  Prince-Governor,  representatives  of  Moslem 
lords,  and  our  own  people — a  hundred  horsemen  in  all.  And 
then  when  we  got  up  to  Hyderlui,  the  whole  village 
streamed  over  the  mountainside  to  line  the  road,  and  the 
weeping  Seir  people  came  down  to  escort  the  remains  of 
him  they  loved,  flocking  along  in  groups  and  lines,  but  the 
majority  massing  themselves  around  the  "  Hakim  Sahib's  " 
carriage. 

At  length  we  got  to  the  village,  and  the  sobbing  people 
pressed  around  so  that  the  few  minutes  that  were  taken 
to  bear  the  casket  from  the  carriage  and  up  to  us  on  the 
rough  path  seemed  endless.  But  all  too  soon  we  were  gath- 
ered around  the  open  grave,  and  after  it  was  sealed  the  same 
dear  words  of  hope  and  comfort  that  lay  away  our  dead 
at  home  were  pronounced — the  same  dear  words,  though  they 
were  in  Syriac.  Then,  with  Mrs.  Cochran  and  the  boys 
first,  we  lined  up  to  have  our  "  heads  healed,"  and  several 
hundred  men  and  women  filed  by,  shaking  hands,  and  mur- 
muring "  Rishokhon  hawi  basseemi "  (May  you  be  com- 
forted), literally,  "May  your  head  be  healed!" — and  all 
we  could  do  for  Dr.  Cochran  had  come  to  an  end. 

After  a  short  delay  we  drove  down  to  the  college,  where 
all  was  strangely  quiet  and  empty  as  the  house  itself — for 
the  700  people  who  had  had  dinner  in  our  absence  had  all 
departed,  and  those  who  had  ridden  up  with  us  had  remained 
at  Seir  for  the  dinner  which  had  been  provided  for  them- 
selves and  their  horses. 

I  could  not  pretend  to  gather  up  for  you  the  innumerable 
words  of  love  and  praise  that  come  to  us  these  days  about 
our  beloved  physician;  but  a  great  wail  is  going  up  from 
high  and  low.  When  the  Prince-Governor  was  told  he  re- 
plied to  our  Mirza,  "  It  is  not  the  sahibs,  but  I,  that  am  to 
be  condoled  with." 


The  place  he  had  filled,  and  the  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held  among  the  Nestorians  were  described  by  the 


"  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST "  291 

Rev.  I.  M.  Yonan  in  his  address  at  the  funeral  service. 
He  spoke  in  the  large  way  of  the  East  and  under  the 
shadow  of  the  doctor's  death,  but  what  he  said  had 
truth  in  it: — 

My  friends,  the  glory  of  Urumia  has  departed  with  the 
departure  of  Joseph  P.  Cochran.  The  splendour,  the  orna- 
ment of  the  country  is  gone,  since  the  greatest,  the  saintliest 
man  who  ever  lived  in  it  has  gone  forever. 

Our  last  year  has  been  a  year  of  plagues,  sickness,  and 
sorrow,  but  these  are  like  a  gentle  evening  shadow  compared 
with  this  last  sorrow  that  God  has  inflicted  upon  our  people, 
for  in  taking  away  from  us  the  man  who  was  a  refuge  to 
our  persecuted,  a  shelter  to  our  afflicted,  the  healer  of  our 
sick,  and  the  father  of  our  orphans,  we  are  left  desolate  and 
hopeless.  .  .  . 

I  wish  to  speak  of  him  as  a  true  and  great  man,  who  has 
been  and  ever  will  remain  a  worthy  ideal  to  all  the  young 
men  of  Persia. 

He  had  three  characteristics  that  shone  like  three  bright 
and  lustrous  stars  in  the  firmament  of  his  life.  First,  he 
was  a  just  man,  true  and  honest  to  his  God,  his  fellowmen, 
and  himself.  His  determination  was  to  do  right  at  any 
cost.  He  sacrificed  expediency  to  truth.  He  crowned  his 
conscience  as  the  sovereign  of  his  soul. 

Being  a  just  man  he  had  no  cause  for  fear.  In  times 
of  adversity  or  peace  he  stood  against  every  form  of  evil 
that  raged  about  him,  as  immovable  as  Gibraltar.  Being 
always  an  uncompromising  hater  of  wrong  and  an  ardent 
lover  of  right,  people  looked  upon  him  as  a  tower  of  strength 
in  our  Church  and  society. 

But  it  is  not  enough  to  be  strong  and  stiff.  Ice  is  strong 
but  cold  and  cruel.  His  heart  was  full  of  mercy  and  grace. 
With  his  majestic  justice  was  combined  the  tenderness  of 
mercy.  His  tears  flowed  with  all  who  wept.  He  mourned 
with  the  mourners. 

His  great  heart  thrilled  with  sympathy  toward  those  who 
were  persecuted  and  wronged  in  the  hands  of  cruel  tyrants. 

He  healed  our  sick  and  soothed  our  pains. 

He  fed  our  hungry  and  helped  our  poor. 


292  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

He  forgave  his  enemies,  and  prayed  for  those  who  hated 
him  and  sought  to  take  his  life. 

He  loved  his  fellowmen  with  the  tender  love  of  a  woman, 
and,  like  his  Lord,  he  went  about  doing  good  all  his  life. 

He  was  the  salt  of  the  earth  and  a  shining  light  among 
men.  Christ  was  in  him,  and  he  lived  and  manifested 
Christ  in  his  every  word  and  deed.  In  these  mighty  prin- 
ciples he  perfected  himself  a  holy  temple,  a  pure  sanctuary 
where  God  was  to  be  worshipped  and  honoured  evermore. 

My  friends!  Dr.  Cochran  is  gone!  And  he  will  never 
return!  We  feel  bowed  down,  distressed,  and  discouraged. 
What  shall  we  do?  There  is  only  one  thing  we  ought  to  do, 
and  that  is  to  have  faith  in  God  and  in  an  all-wise  Providence, 
and  to  pray  earnestly  that  the  mantle  of  Elijah  should  fall 
upon  an  Elisha  who  will  come  forth  to  fill  the  vacant  place. 

Other  warm-hearted  friends  among  the  Nestorians 
wrote  their  estimates  to  Mr.  Clement  and  to  others, 
speaking  after  the  free  and  figurative  fashion  of  the 
Orient : — 

He  was  more  than  Nehemiah  for  our  people  [wrote  Kasha 
Eshoo].  I  do  not  believe  that  America  for  a  thousand  years 
hereafter  can  send  us  a  man  like  Dr.  Cochran  to  be  able  to 
fill  his  place. 

Dr.  Cochran  was  one  and  the  only  one  in  this  generation 
[wrote  Mr.  John  Mooshie].  One  of  the  greatest  testimonies 
given  to-day  about  him  was  that  he  was  the  greatest  diplomat 
that  ever  came  to  Persia  from  a  foreign  country.  No  Amer- 
ican or  any  other  foreigner  ever  knew  Persian  "  forms  and 
fables,"  no  one  ever  had  such  influence  over  the  kings  and 
governors.  In  all  his  career,  it  has  never  been  known  in  any 
instance  that  his  word  or  request  was  refused  from  the  gov- 
ernment side.  I  must  not  and  cannot  speak  any  longer;  his 
death  was  a  very,  very  untimely  one.  We  never  dreamed  of 
his  death;  we  often  feared  his  assassination  by  his  Kurdish 
enemies,  but  to  die  of  a  natural  death,  it  was  far  from  our 
expectation. 

And  it  was  not  only  Christians  and  Moslem  political 
officials  who  mourned  him.  The  most  influential  Mos- 


«  TO  FAITHFUL  WARRIORS  COMES  REST  "   293 

lem  preacher  in  Urumia  at  the  time,  and  also  one  of 
the  most  zealous  of  the  mullahs  in  the  city,  was  Mirza 
Abdul  Kazim  Agha.  He  spoke  openly  and  repeatedly 
in  eulogy  of  the  doctor,  not  only  in  various  companies, 
but  publicly  in  the  mosque,  praising  his  virtues,  and 
declaring  that  even  from  the  religious  point  of  view 
he  was  to  be  admired  as  a  believer  in  the  divine  unity. 
His  missionary  associates  knew  him  best,  however. 

I  do  not  think  it  is  possible  for  any  one  who  has  not 
lived  in  Urumia  [wrote  Arthur  Longden  of  the  Archbishop 
of  Canterbury's  Mission]  to  realize  what  Dr.  Cochran's  death 
means  and  will  mean  to  all  the  Europeans  there  as  well  as 
to  the  natives.  .  .  . 

It  was  not,  however,  until  we  travelled  together  that  I 
realized  fully  the  truth  of  the  statements  I  had  often  heard 
of  his  great  unselfishness  and  continuous  desire  to  give  him- 
self up  to  the  consideration  of  others. 

I  am  absolutely  unable  to  express  my  feelings  of  sorrow, 
but  I  do  know  what  lessons  I  have  to  learn  from  contempla- 
tion of  his  life  of  self-sacrifice. 

One  of  his  own  Mission,  whose  judgment  was  calm 
and  careful,  pronounced  him  to  have  been  the  noblest 
character  he  had  ever  met,  and  another  who  had  lived 
in  relations  of  peculiar  intimacy  and  testing  with  him 
for  many  years,  declared,  "  He  was  the  most  perfect, 
Christlike  man  I  ever  knew."  At  its  Annual  Meeting 
in  the  fall,  the  whole  Mission  placed  on  record  its 
measured  estimate  of  his  influence  and  character. 

It  has  been  many  years  since  this  Mission  has  had  to 
record  the  death  of  a  medical  missionary.  In  the  death  of 
Dr.  Cochran,  the  Mission  has  lost  its  most  influential  mem- 
ber. We  have  not  known  or  heard  of  any  other  foreigner 
whose  loss  has  been  so  widely  and  deeply  mourned  in  this 
country.  Dr.  Cochran  was  well  known  all  over  northern 
Persia,  and  many  people  came  to  him  from  far  beyond — 


294  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

middle  Persia,  eastern  Turkey,  and  southern  Russia.  In 
these  regions  there  are  many  hearts  who  are  sad  at  the  loss 
of  one  to  whom  they  always  looked  in  time  of  illness. 

Dr.  Cochran  had  a  combination  of  qualities  which  it  will 
be  hardly  possible  again  to  find  combined  in  any  one  man. 
Born  in  TJrumia,  he  could  speak  three  languages,  Syriac, 
Turkish,  and  Persian.  He  knew  better  than  any  other  the 
customs  of  the  people,  and  along  with  his  Western  educa- 
tion, had  combined  the  politeness  and  grace  of  the  East. 
His  skill  as  a  physician  and  surgeon  would  have  given  him 
fame  in  any  land,  and  he  was  especially  beloved  in  this 
country  for  his  loving  help  to  thousands. 

His  hatred  of  oppression  and  love  of  the  people  led  him 
to  become  their  intercessor  between  themselves  and  their 
masters,  and  between  themselves  and  the  government.  In 
this  position  he  was  highly  respected  by  the  Persian  govern- 
ment and  adored  by  the  Syrian  people.  The  amount  of  good 
he  did  in  this  line  alone  was  very  great,  and  probably  much 
more  than  we  realize.  Yet,  with  all  this  work  upon  him, 
he  never  lost  sight  of  the  chief  aim  of  the  missionary  cause. 
His  personal  work  with  the  people  he  spoke  of  very  little, 
but  we  know  he  had  an  earnest  and  active  spiritual  interest 
in  all  those  with  whom  he  came  in  contact. 

Personally,  we  shall  miss  more  and  more  his  lovely  char- 
acter, his  warm  friendship,  and  his  deep  interest  in  us  all. 
We  can  learn  much  from  his  life,  his  tact,  his  superior 
judgment,  his  great  patience,  and  his  devotion  to  duty.  Dr. 
Cochran's  life  was  a  life  of  devoted  service.  "  Well  done, 
good  and  faithful  servant,  thou  hast  been  faithful  orer  a 
few  things:  enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord." 


AS  A  PEACE  MAKER   AND   DIPLOMATIST 

IT  is  doubtful  if  any  other  missionary  of  modern 
times,  outside  of  Africa  or  the  South  Seas,  with 
their  primitive  tribes,  has  won  a  more  interesting 
position  in  the  political  life  of  the  people  than  came, 
unsought,  to  Dr.  Cochran.  Born  in  the  country,  speak- 
ing the  three  languages  of  the  people  as  fluently  and 
beautifully  as  the  people  themselves,  with  an  intimate 
and  sympathetic  knowledge  of  all  the  races,  their  con- 
ditions, their  customs,  their  social  and  political  rela- 
tians,  and  with  a  skill  at  race  diagnosis  which  brought 
him  into  touch  with  their  inner  life,  their  modes  and 
currents  of  thought  and  motives  of  action,  their  ideals, 
their  prejudices,  the  secret  springs  of  their  racial, 
social,  and  religious  consciousness, — possessing  a  mind 
of  exceptional  powers  of  observation  and  receptivity, 
and  with  a  thorough  practical  training,  he  began  his 
work  at  the  age  of  twenty-three.  His  work  lay  pri- 
marily among  the  Christian  people,  but  it  reached  out 
to  the  Persian  on  one  side,  and  the  Kurd  on  the  other, 
at  whose  hands  the  Christian  was  ever  subject  to  op- 
pression and  outrage.  The  role  of  mediator  was,  in 
consequence,  early  forced  upon  the  American  physician 
whose  professional  skill  and  kindness  of  heart  were 
quickly  recognized,  and  whose  services  were  freely 
given  to  all  comers  without  distinction  of  station  or 
creed. 

395 


296      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

The  influence  he  soon  gained  over  men  of  every  class 
was  marvellous, — an  influence  always  exerted  to  allay 
strife,  to  right  wrong,  and  to  promote  good  will  among 
men.  The  peasants  looked  to  him  as  a  friend  ever 
ready  to  help:  he  had  won  the  respect  and  the  favour 
of  the  mullahs  and  the  mujtahids,  while  the  village  pro- 
prietors, the  local  rulers,  and  the  predatory  Kurds 
loved,  and  yet  feared  him;  for  his  influence  grew  with 
the  years  and,  in  restraining  injustice  and  exactions, 
was  felt  in  places  of  highest  authority  in  the  land.  It 
was  well  understood  that  he  was  both  a  careful  and 
acute  observer,  and  an  incorruptible  and  fearless  wit- 
ness. 

The  Governor-General  of  Azerbaijan  at  one  time 
asked  him  to  assist  in  bringing  about  an  interview 
which  he  was  trying  to  arrange  with  an  enemy,  a  noted 
Kurdish  chief,  saying  that  he  was  ready  to  take  an  oath 
on  the  Koran  to  give  him  safe  conduct.  "  But  I  would 
not  trust  your  oath,"  was  the  doctor's  frank  reply. 
"  As  soon  as  you  got  him  in  your  power  you  would  kill 

him  as  you  killed ."  The  Governor  did  not  press 

the  matter  further. 

I  was  with  him  once  in  a  little  village  where  a  nest 
of  robbers  lived.  The  morning  we  left,  among  those 
who  came  to  say  good-bye  was  the  head  of  the  band. 
The  doctor,  who  was  a  man  of  slight  stature,  looked 
him  steadily  in  the  eyes,  and  in  his  calm,  even  voice, 
told  him  in  the  plainest  terms  what  sort  of  man  he 
was,  and  what  he  thought  of  him.  The  Moslems  ad- 
mired a  man  who  could  not  be  intimidated  and  who 
was  not  afraid  to  speak  truth  to  any  man. 

An  old  tyrannical  Governor,  who  was  several  times 
appointed  to  the  district  of  Urumia,  knew  how  to  keep 
the  district  in  order  by  his  stern  measures.  A  few 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     297 

noses  and  ears  lopped  off,  and  a  throat  or  two  cut  in 
the  early  months  of  his  governorship  served  as  a  suffi- 
cient warning  to  evil-doers,  who  kept  out  of  the  way 
thereafter.  When  the  gentlemen  of  the  Station  called 
on  this  Governor,  they  were  amused  to  see  the  servant 
insert  the  long  stem  of  the  water  pipe  into  the  mouth 
of  his  indolent  Excellency,  and  take  it  out  at  the 
proper  moment,  and  were  startled  to  hear  him  swear 
violently  if  the  servant  did  not  drive  the  fly  off  his 
nose.  Everything  had  to  be  done  for  him,  and  when 
a  violent  attack  of  rheumatism  laid  him  low,  life  was 
not  worth  living  for  his  attendants.  Dr.  Cochran 
was  in  great  and  constant  demand  at  this  juncture, 
and  had  to  traverse  the  long  distance  from  his  hospital 
to  the  palace  at  least  twice  a  day  to  attend  his  unruly 
patient,  whom  the  missionaries  dubbed,  "  Doctor's 
Baby."  Finally  the  patient  had  improved  to  such  an 
extent  that  the  doctor  ordered  him  out  for  a  drive, — 
an  order  that  was  not  heeded.  One  day,  the  doctor 
being  very  busy  with  operations  at  the  hospital,  and 
knowing  that  his  presence  was  entirely  unnecessary, 
postponed  his  call  until  the  latter  part  of  the  after- 
noon. As  he  entered  the  large  reception  room  he  saw 
it  was  filled  with  callers, — noblemen  and  wealthy  sub- 
jects who  were  paying  their  respects  to  the  Governor. 
The  doctor's  entrance  was  the  signal  for  a  perfect 
tirade  from  his  angry  patient.  "  What  sort  of  a  doctor 
is  this  who  comes  to  see  a  sick  man  at  this  time  of 
day?"  etc.,  etc.,  with  impolite  interjections  to  his  at- 
tendants. Dr.  Cochran  stood  calmly  waiting  until  the 
torrent  of  abuse  had  spent  itself,  then  said  with  his 
own  unequalled  dignity,  "  I  did  not  come  to-day  as  a 
physician,  but  to  say  farewell.  No  one  is  a  patient  of 
mine  who  does  not  obey  my  orders,  and  I  understand 


298  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

you  have  not  taken  a  drive,  so  I  bid  you  good-bye." 
There  was  an  awful  silence,  for  no  person  present  had 
ever  heard  an  Oriental  despot  addressed  in  such 
fashion,  and  what  the  consequence  might  be  could  not 
be  predicted.  Suddenly  the  Governor  burst  out  into 
a  hearty  laugh  in  which  all  present  gladly  joined, 
and  the  scene  ended  with  a  drive  in  the  state 
carriage,  the  doctor  and  the  Governor  sitting  side 
by  side  and  attended  by  large  numbers  of  mounted 
retainers. 

He  became  the  great  character  of  the  city  and  of 
western  Persia.  A  Moslem  lady  of  high  rank  in  Uru- 
mia  once  remarked,  as  he  was  starting  away,  "  We  al- 
ways feel  that  the  city  is  perfectly  safe  when  Dr. 
Cochran  is  here."  In  1887  Mrs.  Cochran  wrote: — 

AUGUST  4th, — While  Joe  was  visiting  the  Governor  the 
other  day,  the  Governor  asked  him  if  he  could  not  help 
him  to  find  a  way  to  catch  Hessu.  I  think  I  have  written 
you  about  that  dangerous  Kurd,  who  infests  the  mountains 
with  his  band,  and  whom  the  Persian  army  have  been  trying 
to  take  all  the  year  past.  The  Governor  said,  "  If  the  King 
disgraced  and  fined  a  Prince,  a  son  of  Fath-ali-Shah,  for  not 
taking  Hessu  and  quieting  the  border,  what  may  not  I  ex- 
pect at  his  hands?  You,  Hakim-bashi,  are  wise  and  well 
acquainted  with  the  ways  of  this  country;  now  help  me 
out  of  this  dilemma."  Joe  suggested  that  it  was  no  way 
to  catch  such  a  man  to  send  a  whole  army  to  sit  and  watch 
him.  While  they  were  waiting  in  camp,  Hessu  came  down 
behind  them,  robbing  on  the  plain.  He  asked  him  why  he 
did  not  offer  a  reward  to  single  persons  here  and  there  to  go 
and  kill  him.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  earth  should  be 
rid  of  a  creature  like  Hessu,  who  robs  and  kills  at  his  will. 
The  Governor  said  he  had  offered  a  reward,  but  no  one  be- 
lieved that  he  would  really  get  the  money,  and  would  run 
no  risk  for  it.  Then  he  said  to  Joe,  "  You  take  the  money. 
I  will  count  it  out  to  you  now — 500  tomans — and  tell  the 
people  they  can  go  to  you  for  pay.  They  will  believe  you, 


AS  A  PEACE  MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST       299 

they  won't  me."  Is  not  that  an  edifying  speech  from  a 
Persian  Governor?  Joe,  however,  refused  to  have  anything 
to  do  with  it,  said  it  was  not  his  business  here. 

It  is  wonderful  what  confidence  these  people  have  in  us 
and  even  in  our  people.  The  Governor  gave  Joe  his  gold 
watch  to  send  to  Europe  to  be  repaired.  It  was  just  too  late 
for  Mr.  Hargrave,  so  Joe  told  him  there  was  no  chance  to 
send  it  unless  by  some  of  our  Nestorians  as  far  as  Con- 
stantinople, and  there  would  be  several  changes  of  hands, 
and  perhaps  it  would  not  be  safe.  "  Oh,  yes,"  said  he, 
"  the  hands  of  all  your  people  are  good." 

The  poor  looked  up  to  Dr.  Cochran  with  a  great 
and  grateful  awe.  "  I  chanced  to  see  in  the  compound 
one  day,"  wrote  one  of  the  missionaries,  "  a  poor, 
ragged  man  reverently  lifting  and  kissing  the  skirt 
of  the  doctor's  frock  coat  in  which  he  had  been  calling 
upon  the  Governor,  while  he,  oblivious  of  the  incident, 
was  talking  to  another  man." 

People  knew  that  he  knew  the  truth.  No  man  in 
Persia  had  a  better  knowledge  of  the  people  than  he. 
"  What  Dr.  Cochran  does  not  know  about  Persia," 
said  Captain  Gough,  the  British  consul  at  Kerman- 
shah,  when  he  came  to  know  him,  "  is  not  worth  know- 
ing." And  he  knew  perfectly  how  to  deal  with  Per- 
sians. No  one  of  them  was  more  of  a  Persian  gentle- 
man than  he  was.  He  knew  and  observed  the  etiquette 
of  the  land,  and  moved  as  easily  and  quietly  among 
the  nobles  and  princes  as  among  the  poor  of  the  vil- 
lages. His  brother-in-law,  Dr.  George  W.  Holmes,  who 
was  in  Persia  for  years  on  closest  terms  with  the 
people,  from  the  Shah  to  the  meanest  peasant,  and 
who  was  himself  located  in  Urumia  from  1874  to  1877, 
when  ill  health  in  his  family  compelled  a  temporary 
return  to  America,  wrote  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
conditions  and  the  man: — 


300      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Dr.  Cochran's  relations  of  friendship,  and  often  of  inti- 
macy, with  the  higher  classes  kept  him  always  well  informed 
in  Persian  affairs,  but  he  had  no  taste  for  the  arts  of  the 
politician.  He  did  much  to  relieve  the  oppression  of  the 
people  of  TTrumia,  many  of  whom  had  come  to  look  to  him 
as  a  protector.  This  was  accomplished,  more  than  anything 
else,  through  his  unique  personal  influence.  He  had  no 
prestige  as  the  representative  of  a  foreign  power;  he  had  no 
battleships  at  his  command,  no  Cossacks  across  the  border 
to  add  weight  to  his  representations.  He  seldom  found  it 
necessary,  in  matters  within  their  jurisdiction,  to  call  in  the 
aid  of  our  Legation  officials.  His  success  as  a  mediator  or  as 
a  diplomatist  was  due  to  the  justice  of  the  cause  he  advo- 
cated, the  thoroughness  with  which  he  investigated  it  in  all 
its  aspects,  the  dignity,  firmness,  patience,  and  rare  courtesy 
with  which  he  prosecuted  it,  but,  more  than  all,  to  the  high 
character  and  winning  personality  of  the  man  himself.  All 
who  knew  him  felt  it  to  be  an  honour  to  have  the  friendship 
of  the  "  Hakim  Sahib,"  and  in  the  presence  of  such  a  friend 
all  doors  were  open.  He  was  diplomatic  in  the  sense  that  he 
was  courteous  and  tactful.  But  he  was  more  the  statesman 
than  the  diplomat.  He  realized,  more  clearly  perhaps  than 
any  other  has  done,  the  points  of  injurious  pressure  in  the 
ill-fitting  adjustment  of  Persia's  political  and  religious  rule 
to  the  industrial  and  social  life  of  the  Nestorian  people. 
He  had  personal  knowledge  of  much  of  the  evils  of  that 
rule,  for  he  saw  much,  and  much  that  he  did  not  see  he  felt. 
For  it  was  true  of  him  in  a  large  sense  that  in  all  the 
afflictions  of  his  adopted  people  he  was  afflicted.  There  was 
much  of  the  patriarchal  in  his  relations  to  the  Protestant 
communities  of  the  plains,  and  the  contiguous  mountains 
of  Kurdistan.  Only  with  the  difference  that  he  levied  no 
tribute,  he  exacted  no  obedience,  he  came  to  them  not  to  be 
ministered  unto  but  to  minister.  This  relation  was  very 
strongly  brought  out  in  the  course  of  two  trips  to  the 
mountains  of  Kurdistan  on  both  sides  of  the  frontier,  in 
which  it  was  my  privilege  to  accompany  him.  At  that  time, 
still  a  young  man,  and  comparatively  new  to  the  work,  he 
was  destined  to  develop  along  lines  broad  and  comprehensive, 
and  he  was  already  accepted  by  the  grey-bearded  elders  of 
the  villages  we  visited  as  a  father  and  a  protector,  and  they 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     301 

came  to  him  with  all  their  troubles,  assured  of  wise  and 
sympathetic  counsel. 

He  understood  at  first  hand  the  needs  of  the  people  among 
whom  his  work  lay,  and  his  heart,  out  of  the  abundance 
of  its  sympathies,  responded  promptly  to  their  appeals  to 
him  to  relieve  the  pressure  of  some  new  and  unaccustomed 
burden  here,  or  some  removable  cause  of  irritation  there, 
or  when  possible  to  bring  about  some  permanent  improve- 
ment in  their  condition. 

Wherever  he  went  the  people  came  to  him  to  heal  their 
diseases,  and  the  best  resources  of  medical  science,  admin- 
istered by  the  hand  of  tender  sympathy,  were  placed  freely 
at  their  command;  they  came  with  the  story  of  their  wrongs, 
and  his  time  was  at  their  disposal  to  listen  judiciously  to 
their  complaints,  to  sift  the  truth  out  of  a  mass  of  often 
conflicting  testimony,  and  to  help  them,  perhaps  by  a  simple 
word  of  advice,  perhaps  as  a  friendly  mediator  between  ruler 
or  subject,  or  between  man  and  neighbour;  perhaps  as  a 
terror  to  evil-doers  who  knew  that  his  representations  to  those 
in  authority  would  be  accepted  as  true,  and  perhaps  as  the 
last  word  on  the  subject. 

For  there  were  few  of  the  nobility,  of  the  official  classes, 
or  of  the  ecclesiastics  who  dwelt  in,  or  who  visited  TJrumia, 
all  of  them  Mohammedans,  who  did  not  at  one  time  or 
another  ask  his  advice  as  a  physician,  and  to  meet  him  in 
that  relation  was  almost  invariably  to  become  his  friend. 
With  many,  this  took  on  the  character  of  strong  personal 
affection,  in  which  all  differences  of  race  or  religion  were 
kept  in  abeyance. 

Dr.  Cochran  was  always  as  ready  to  help  a  Moslem  as  a 
Christian  when  the  appeal  was  made  to  him,  and  he  was 
careful,  also,  to  see  that  the  help  he  secured  for  one  should 
not  act  to  the  prejudice  of  another.  I  remember  one  occa- 
sion where  he  sought  redress  of  the  Governor  for  a  robbery 
by  Kurds,  of  property  belonging  to  some  of  the  missionaries. 
This  was  a  case  that  could  be  referred  to  our  minister  in 
Teheran,  and  an  order  came  for  the  Governor  to  pay  an 
indemnity  for  the  loss.  Dr.  Cochran  was  offered  payment 
for  the  property,  but  he  had  meantime  learned  that  the  rob- 
bery had  been  perpetrated  by  a  clan  of  Kurds  with  whose 
chief  the  Governor  was  in  alliance,  and  that  the  intention 


302  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

of  the  latter  was  to  make  reprisals  on  the  Kurds  of  another 
village  which  chanced  to  be  near  the  scene  of  the  outrage. 
He  represented  the  facts  to  the  Governor,  but  the  ruler  plead 
the  sanctions  of  Persian  usage  from  time  immemorial,  and 
the  payment  tendered  was  consequently  declined. 

One  important  element  of  Dr.  Cochran's  influence  with 
the  higher  classes  was  his  intelligent  and  thoughtful  ob- 
servance of  Persian  etiquette.  They  felt  it  to  be  a  compli- 
ment to  them  that  he  should  care  for  these  things,  so  im- 
portant in  their  eyes,  that  he  should  take  the  pains  to 
familiarize  himself  with  their  somewhat  complex  details. 
His  dignity  of  demeanour,  his  unfailing  courtesy,  his  hos- 
pitality, his  thoughtfulness  and  consideration  and  sincerity 
endeared  him  to  them,  and  often  smoothed  the  way  over 
difficulties  which  a  less  engaging  manner  would  have  found 
insurmountable.  Few  men  have  met  a  great  opportunity 
with  a  finer  equipment,  a  more  perfect  adaptation  of  mental 
and  moral  qualities  to  the  work  they  have  undertaken.  He 
made  it  a  greater  opportunity.  He  enriched  it  with  his  own 
noble  ideals,  lifted  it  out  of  its  narrow  environment,  and 
made  it  an  object  lesson  and  an  inspiration  to  multitudes 
who  have  known  him,  or  who  read  the  record  of  his  life. 
He  did  not  have  to  wait  for  the  grave  to  make  that  inspira- 
tion effective  for  his  fellow-missionaries,  and  particularly  for 
those  of  his  own  profession  in  the  medical  work  in  Persia. 
Every  one  who  came  into  any  kind  of  close  personal  relations 
with  him  felt  and  recognized  the  stimulus  of  his  personality 
and  was  made  stronger  by  it.  Much  as  he  was  to  the  people, 
he  was  more  to  his  fellow-workers,  for  after  all,  as  has  been 
said  by  one  of  those  who  dearly  loved  him,  all  that  he  did 
was  of  minor  importance  compared  with  what  he  was.  For 
it  was  the  spirit  of  Christ  that  was  his  own  inspiration; 
it  was  the  love  of  Christ  that  constrained  him,  and  made  of 
him  a  lover  of  his  kind.  And  it  was  their  instinctive  recog- 
nition of  this,  and  their  belief  in  its  genuineness  that  en- 
deared him  alike  to  Christian  and  Moslem.  For  it  is  a  fact 
which  ought  to  be  a  more  compelling  one  in  the  relations 
of  our  missionaries  to  individual  Moslems  than  is  always 
the  case,  that  the  Christ-life  exemplified  in  the  Christian 
disciple,  if  its  genuineness  be  unquestioned,  makes  the 
strongest  possible  appeal  to  the  mind  of  the  Moslem,  and 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     303 

elicits  his  admiration,  whether  or  not  he  be  led  to  emulate 
it  himself. 

As  kas  been  the  case  with  many  others  who  have  wrought 
great  things,  Dr.  Cochran  was  indebted  to  the  wife  of  his 
youth  for  many  of  the  formative  influences  which  had  to  do 
with  the  shaping  and  development  of  his  character.  Her 
well-trained  mind,  her  mature  judgment,  and  her  strong 
and  beautiful  character  constituted  her  a  counsellor  whose 
aid  he  frequently  sought,  and  to  whom  his  judgment  often 
deferred,  while  their  strong  mutual  affection  contributed 
largely,  doubtless,  to  the  graciousness  and  gentleness  of 
spirit  which  so  signally  marked  his  advancing  years. 

The  influence  which  Dr.  Cochran  possessed,  and  the 
conditions  by  which  he  was  surrounded,  forced  upon 
him  the  question  of  the  duty  of  a  missionary  to  im- 
prove civil  conditions,  to  promote  justice,  and  to  pre- 
vent wrong.  He  was  a  man  of  righteous  character 
and  a  preacher  of  a  righteous  life.  Was  he  not  to  do 
justice,  and  to  love  mercy,  and  to  see,  so  far  as  he  was 
able,  that  mercy  was  loved  and  justice  done  by  others? 
The  situation  in  which  he  lived  was  a  tangle  of  races 
and  religions,  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  laws  and  in- 
stitutions. It  would  have  been  bad  enough  with  only 
Moslems  to  deal  with,  and  Turks  and  Persians  and 
Kurds,  but  when  Armenians  and  Jews  and  Nestorians 
were  added,  with  the  network  of  precedents  and  com- 
promises, under  which  non-Moslems  were  enabled  to 
live  under  Moslem  law,  existence  itself,  not  to  speak 
of  missionary  influence,  depended  upon  the  tact  and 
Christian  diplomacy  with  which  a  man  met  men  and 
bore  himself  as  a  mediator  and  friend  among  them. 

What  Dr.  Cochran  thought  on  the  problem  of  politi- 
cal action  on  the  part  of  a  missionary  in  his  situation, 
we  are  not  left  to  guess.  In  1900  he  presented  to  the 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  West  Persia  Mission  a  careful 
paper  on  "  The  Missionary  and  Native  Litigation," 


304  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

which  should  be  quoted  in  full  as  a  study  of  the  prob- 
lem by  a  man  who  lived  in  it,  and  who  could  not  brush 
aside  its  difficulties  in  the  easy  way  of  the  doctrinaire 
student  or  critic  of  Missions  ten  thousand  miles 
away : — 

This  subject  which  has  been  given  me  is  one  of  the  many 
important  ones  which  confront  nearly  all  Foreign  Missions. 
The  replies  that  were  received  to  the  nine  questions  on  this 
subject  which  were  sent  out  to  all  foreign  countries  by  the 
Foreign  Mission  Boards  of  the  United  States  and  Canada 
indicate  a  diversity  of  conditions,  as  would  be  supposed,  at 
the  same  time  that  they  show  that  nearly  all  Missions  have 
to  cope  with  this  problem  in  one  form  and  another,  and  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent.  In  our  Urumia  field  the  conditions 
are  such  that  this  subject  assumes  an  important  position. 
Twenty-five  thousand  Syrians  dwell  together  in  a  compara- 
tively small  area.  These  people  are  divided  up  into  a  num- 
ber of  sects,  while  about  and  over  them  dwell  and  rule  the 
Mohammedans.  The  government  is  in  the  hands  of  the  lat- 
ter, and  for  the  most  part  the  land  is  owned  by  them.  The 
Christians,  together  with  the  Mohammedan  peasants,  pos- 
sess only,  if  anything,  the  improvements  upon  the  land.  In 
the  early  days  of  the  history  of  this  Mission,  the  relation 
between  the  Christians  and  the  proprietors  of  the  villages 
were  materially  different  from  the  present.  The  master 
looked  upon  his  subject  very  much  as  a  slave  owner  would, 
or  in  exceptional  cases,  as  an  Oriental  head  of  a  large  family 
might.  The  peasant,  on  the  other  hand,  accepted  whatever 
burdens  his  lord  might  be  pleased  to  impose  upon  him,  never 
for  a  moment  dreaming  of  seeking  redress  for  any  wrong. 
I  am  not  aware  that  the  condition  of  the  Christian  peasant, 
at  that  time,  was  any  harder  than  that  of  the  Mohammedan 
peasant.  In  case  of  any  difficulty  arising  between  his  sub- 
jects, the  lord  of  the  village  settled  the  dispute.  Sometimes 
he  would  punish  both  with  a  fine  and  a  bastinado;  at  others 
he  would  take  the  part  of  one  and  chastise  the  other,  or  he 
might  pay  little  or  no  attention  to  the  quarrel.  Never  would 
these  Christians  be  brought  to  the  central  government,  unless 
they  were  involved  in  a  case  with  Mohammedans,  or  with 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     305 

men  of  another  village.  As  time  went  on,  however,  and  all 
the  people  became  more  enlightened,  the  yoke  of  their  mas- 
ters grew  more  irksome,  and  moreover,  they  found  sympa- 
thizers with  them  in  their  oppressions  as  they  related  their 
wrongs  to  the  missionaries  and  to  the  more  favoured  of  their 
own  people,  and  at  last  they  became  bold  enough  to  enter 
complaints  before  the  Governor  against  their  masters.  As 
the  years  passed  by,  this  became  more  general,  and  when 
in  quarrels  with  one  another  these  peasants  failed  to  get 
satisfaction  at  the  court  of  their  master,  they  would  appeal 
directly  to  the  Governor.  This  very  naturally  generated 
more  and  more  an  estrangement  between  the  peasants  and 
the  masters  of  their  villages.  It  undoubtedly  produced  also 
an  aggravation  of  the  oppressions.  These  masters  included 
the  wealthiest  and  most  influential  men  of  the  place.  It  was 
no  small  matter  for  these  noblemen  to  be  forced  to  answer 
to  charges  preferred  against  them  by  some  plebeian,  a  subject 
of  their  own.  So,  too,  the  Governor  would  often  espouse 
the  cause  of  the  nobleman  rather  than  to  encourage  the 
peasant  in  what  seemed  like  a  very  bold  revolt  against  the 
rights  of  the  former.  It  became  finally  so  difficult  for  the 
Christians  to  obtain  redress  when  they  had  a  litigation  with 
a  Moslem,  no  matter  what  the  standing  of  the  latter,  that 
the  missionaries  joined  with  the  Christians  in  making  repre- 
sentations to  the  capital  of  their  wrongs,  and  of  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  satisfaction,  requesting  that  a  special  officer 
be  appointed  to  be  Governor  for  the  non-Moslem  sects.  H. 
B.  M.,  minister  at  Teheran,  succeeded  in  having  such  an 
office  (the  Sarparast)  created,  and  this  has  continued  to  the 
present  time. 

Turning  now  to  the  Christians  themselves,  we  cannot  dis- 
pute the  fact  that  the  Syrians  are  litigious  people.  The 
spirit  of  contention  and  quarrelsomeness  is  developed  strongly 
among  them,  and  alas,  of  spite  and  revenge  as  well.  Cases 
could  be  given,  without  number,  showing  how  prevalent  this 
spirit  is,  and  what  havoc  it  is  working  among  the  people.  I 
will  mention  only  one  of  the  many  cases  which  are  in  the 
courts  at  the  present  time:  A  woman  buys  a  vineyard  in 
the  name  of  her  cousin  for  480  tomans.  She  sells  one-half 
of  it  shortly  for  240  tomans,  and  gives  a  deed  in  her  own 
name.  The  value  of  the  vineyard  soon  increases  greatly,  and 


306  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

in  order  to  repossess  her  vineyard  she  enters  suit  to  recover 
it  again,  on  the  ground  that  she  had  no  right  to  sell  the 
property  in  her  name  which  belonged  to  her  cousin.  Already 
the  two  parties  to  this  litigation  have  paid  to  the  courts 
500  tomans,  and  the  case  is  not  yet  settled. 

Some  of  the  apologies  which  we  may  make  for  the  people 
are  these:  They  have  always  been  a  subject  race.  They 
have  been  born  with  the  feeling  that  every  man's  hand  is 
against  them.  What  they  possess  has  been  earned  under 
great  difficulties,  and  their  hold  upon  what  they  may  have 
accumulated  is  very  insecure.  They  have  never,  until  com- 
paratively recently,  voluntarily  given  money  to  any  one  or 
for  any  cause.  When  they  have  paid  out  anything  it  has 
usually  been  under  the  rod  of  the  tax-master  or  the  sword 
of  the  robber.  All  this  has  tended  to  make  them  close,  and 
constantly  on  the  defensive,  and  hard  masters  when  they 
have  it  in  their  power  to  oppress  others.  Aside  from  the 
oppressions  of  some  of  the  masters  and  many  of  the  over- 
seers, the  injustice  of  all  the  courts,  and  the  insecurity  from 
petty  thieving  and  open  robbery,  there  is  much  else  in  their 
life  here  to  embitter  them  against  their  Mohammedan  neigh- 
bours. They  are  regarded  as  unclean  by  them.  They  can- 
not sell  any  of  their  moist  produce,  like  fruit,  vegetables, 
molasses,  etc.,  to  the  Moslems.  Their  testimony  at  court 
against  a  Moslem  is  not  legally  acceptable.  A  convert  to 
Islam  from  Christianity  can  legally  claim,  not  only  the 
property  to  which  he  would  fall  heir  had  he  remained  Chris- 
tian, but  all  the  property  of  his  seventy  nearest  relations. 
These  and  many  other  things  can  be  said  in  the  way  of 
explanation  for  this  spirit  of  contention  and  revenge  among 
the  Christians. 

The  evils  arising  from  these  litigations  are  many  and  ob- 
vious. I  will  mention  only  some  of  the  more  glaring  ones. 
Undoubtedly  the  greatest  evil  is  the  damage  it  does  to  the 
spiritual  life  of  those  who  engage,  to  any  extent,  in  these 
contentions.  It  cultivates  the  spirit  of  revenge;  it  sunders 
harmony;  it  breaks  up  the  people  into  cliques  and  classes 
instead  of  fostering  and  increasing  unity;  it  weakens  instead 
of  strengthens  the  people;  it  often  breaks  up  the  Church. 
The  baneful  effects  of  this  habit,  unfortunately,  are  not  con- 
fined to  those  who  wilfully  practise  it,  for  it  stimulates  the 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     307 

cupidity  of  the  government  officials,  and,  in  their  minds, 
magnifies  the  resources  of  the  people.  Every  additional  fine 
thus  levied  makes  the  office  of  the  Sarparast  the  more  lucra- 
tive, and  therefore  the  more  sought  after.  This,  in  turn, 
begets  at  headquarters  the  excuse  for  demanding  a  higher 
price  for  the  position,  and  consequently  necessitates 
heavier  fining  and  the  search  after  every  conceivable  method 
to  make  additional  money.  The  price  in  cash  which  the 
Sarparast  has  to  pay  annually  is  1,000  tomans,  but,  in  addi- 
tion to  this,  he  is  called  upon  freely  and  often  to  send  to 
his  superiors  loads  of  arrack,  rose  water,  and  other  per- 
fumeries, secretaries,  and  other  pieces  of  woodwork  so  well 
made  here.  He  must  also  share  with  the  central  govern- 
ment all  the  large  fines  he  levies  or  those  obtained  in  im- 
portant suits.  Time  does  not  permit  me  to  remind  you  in1 
detail  of  the  still  greater  evils  to  which  one  is  led,  to  the 
subsequent  steps,  and  the  correspondingly  larger  fees  and 
bribes  which  the  litigant  must  pay  when  he  is  sent  by  the 
Sarparast  to  the  Moslem  law  courts,  if  his  case  is  one  in- 
volving questions  which  a  Governor  cannot  decide.  In  such 
cases,  frequently,  the  parties  to  the  law-suit  find  that  the 
expenses  at  the  Sarparast's  court  were  a  mere  rivulet  in 
comparison  with  the  torrents  which  now  sweep  away  their 
possessions.  Bribe  upon  bribe,  and  fee  upon  fee  has  to  be 
given  to  one  mujtahid  and  then  another  before  the  case  is 
settled.  The  litigant  now  awakes  to  the  fact  that  his  suit 
has  not  only  cost  him  already  more  than  it  is  worth,  but 
all  that  he  owns  has  perhaps  been  mortgaged  to  secure  ready 
cash  for  these  expenses.  In  despair,  lest  it  all  be  in  vain, 
he  throws  himself  in  the  stable  (as  asylum)  of  some  great 
mujtahid  or  at  the  feet  of  some  notorious  and  powerful 
sayid.  He  presents  his  case  and  all  that  it  involves,  and 
begs  that  he  be  protected,  and  that  his  property  be  saved. 
For  a  good  compensation,  in  advance,  this  man  promises 
to  secure  him  his  rights.  The  case  is  reopened,  and  com- 
promises are  made  with  his  previous  judges  and  with  the 
opponent,  and  finally  settled.  Some  of  the  evils  of  litigation 
to  our  Christian  people  here  have  been  pointed  out.  There 
are  many  objections,  also,  to  the  missionaries  having  much 
to  do  with  these  litigations  before  the  courts. 
Oftener  than  one  would  suppose  it  is  very  difficult  to 


308      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

obtain  the  actual  facts  in  any  given  case.  Mistakes  arising 
in  consequence  of  such  misunderstanding  are,  to  say  the 
least,  very  unfortunate.  Often  where  successful  redress  is 
obtained  for  some  wrong  done  to  our  people,  the  impression 
is  left  that  in  every  case  we  might  secure  such  redress,  and 
when  failure  is  the  result,  the  people  are  more  likely  to 
attribute  it  to  a  lack  of  interest  and  a  desire  to  avoid 
trouble  than  to  anything  else.  It  puts  us  frequently  in  a 
delicate  relation  to  the  owners  of  the  villages  and  to  the 
authorities.  It  frequently  adds  to  the  irritation  felt  by  the 
authorities  against  foreigners  who  interfere  in  any  way 
with  their  unrestrained  will  to  do  what  they  wish,  rightly 
or  wrongly,  with  their  subjects.  It  calls  forth  the  sympathy 
of  the  missionary  as  much,  if  not  more,  than  any  other  part 
of  the  work.  What  then  is  the  missionary  to  do?  Is  he  not 
to  show  his  sympathy  with  the  oppressed  and  the  down- 
trodden ?  Is  he  not  commanded  to  "  relieve  the  oppressed, 
judge  the  fatherless,  and  plead  for  the  widow"?  In  the 
light  of  events  transpiring  in  China  at  present,  this  question 
becomes  more  than  usually  important.  Some  go  so  far  as 
to  believe  that  the  rising  against  the  foreigners  by  the 
Chinese  is  the  direct  outcome  of  the  relation  which  the 
Roman  Catholic  missionaries  have  sustained  towards  the 
government  and  their  converts.  In  China,  as  in  Persia, 
they  have  made  a  general  offer  to  those  whom  they  wish  to 
win  as  converts,  that  the  missionaries  will  stand  between 
them  and  litigations  on  the  part  of  native  authorities.  They 
have  in  many  places  in  China  given  out  the  impression  that 
a  sort  of  protectorate  has  been  established  by  them  over 
all  their  converts.  No  such  criticism  can  be  justly  made 
of  the  methods  pursued  in  this  regard  by  our  Mission.  At 
the  same  time,  we  have  many  times  made  the  authorities 
feel  and  sometimes  say  that  it  was  a  question  whether  we 
had  the  right  to  interfere  in  affairs  between  themselves  and 
their  subjects.  The  relation  existing  at  present  between  the 
authorities  of  all  classes  and  ourselves  is  extremely  pleasant; 
perhaps  they  were  never  more  so.  At  the  same  time,  what 
can  we  do  to  retain  their  good  will  and  at  the  same  time  to 
show  our  sympathy  for  our  people  when  they  are  oppressed 
by  their  rulers  or  by  public  marauders? 

Howsoever  interesting  the  study  of  the  morbid  conditions 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     309 

and  their  etiology  may  be,  nevertheless  it  is  the  remedy  that 
we  all  seek.  The  missionary  must  for  all  time,  and  probably 
in  all  places,  show  his  sympathy  in  the  troubles  and  trials 
of  the  people  if  he  would  reach  their  hearts.  He  cannot  help 
them  by  simply  refusing  to  listen  to  their  tales  of  woe, 
and  declining  to  exert  any  influence,  in  any  way,  in  their 
behalf.  He  must  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  relations  of 
their  life,  take  the  lead,  and  exert  upon  them,  unconsciously, 
if  possible,  an  influence  that  will  direct  them  to  the  best 
methods  of  meeting  these  difficulties.  It  behooves  us  to  be 
mindful  of  the  signs  of  the  times.  Many  lessons  must  be 
learned  from  the  troubles  in  China.  We  must  take  note, 
too,  of  the  word  of  the  Prime  Minister  of  England  in  his 
recent  address  before  the  S.  P.  G.  Bicentenary.  He  speaks 
there  for  the  English  government  to  the  missionaries.  It 
is  not  an  encouraging  message  that  he  gives  to  English  mis- 
sionaries. It  may,  in  our  opinion,  be  a  decidedly  one-sided 
statement  of  the  facts.  He  makes  no  mention  of  the  benefits 
accruing  to  civilization  and  science  and  good  government 
from  missionary  work.  He  takes  no  notice  of  the  fact  that 
wars  and  rebellions  have  more  than  once  been  averted  as 
a  direct  outcome  of  Mission  work.  We  may  criticize  Lord 
Salisbury  for  so  publicly  giving  his  advice  of  caution  to 
missionaries,  especially  in  their  work  among  Moslems;  but 
nevertheless,  in  the  consideration  of  the  question  of  the  re- 
lation of  the  missionary  towards  the  government  and  the 
people  in  this  matter,  we  must  give  due  consideration  to 
sentiments  emanating  from  the  source  which  they  do.  It 
can  be  said  for  our  Mission  that  we  have  always  discouraged 
litigations.  We  have  preached  loyalty  to  the  government, 
and  have  endeavoured  to  minimize  the  friction  that  has 
arisen  between  the  people  and  those  in  authority.  Our 
efforts  along  this  line  have  been  appreciated  by  the  masters 
and  the  civil  and  religious  courts.  So  far  as  possible  we 
have  kept  ourselves  in  the  background,  and  have  appeared 
directly  as  little  as  possible  when  our  people  have  had  suits 
with  Mohammedans.  Since  the  appointment,  now  nearly 
twenty  years  ago,  of  a  civil  head  by  our  Protestant  commun- 
ity, the  missionary  does  not  need  to  appear  so  often  between 
the  authorities  and  the  people.  It  is  perfectly  natural  that 
this  man  should  be  the  spokesman  for  our  people  when  cases 


310  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

come  before  the  government,  and  when  he  has  done  all  he 
can,  if  it  seem  best,  the  missionary  can  add  his  influence  and 
counsel. 

Let  us  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  question  of  finding 
a  remedy  for  the  frequent  litigations  among  our  own  people. 
It  seems  to  me  that  this  evil  can  be  greatly  modified  if 
we  set  about  in  earnest  to  accomplish  it.  The  steps  to  this 
end  which  I  have  to  propose  are  not  new  ideas,  but  are 
sufficient,  I  am  convinced,  if  we  all  exert  our  influence 
together  to  put  them  into  operation. 

1st.  Encourage,  in  every  possible  manner,  the  settlement 
of  all  minor  disputes  in  the  villages.  A  small  committee 
can  be  set  apart  in  the  church  to  attend  to  such  cases.  We 
have  Scriptural  authority  for  this,  dating  from  the  time 
of  Jethro,  in  the  wilderness,  when  we  see  the  first  institution 
of  the  Courts  of  Judicature.  In  New  Testament  times  the 
law  is  laid  down  for  us :  "  Dare  any  of  you  having  a  matter 
against  another  go  to  law  before  the  unjust,  and  not  before 
the  saints  ? "  "  Is  it  so,  that  there  is  not  a  wise  man  among 
you.  No,  not  one  that  shall  be  able  to  judge  between  his 
brethren.  Brother  goeth  to  law  with  his  brother,  and  that 
before  the  unbelievers.  Why  do  ye  rather  not  take  wrong? 
Why  do  ye  not  rather  suffer  yourselves  to  be  defrauded  ? " 

2nd.  Where  this  does  not  avail,  encourage  and  assist  them 
in  referring  the  case  to  a  committee  of  their  own  appoint- 
ment from  among  the  prominent  men  of  their  nation.  It  is 
a  gratifying  sign  that  the  majority  of  litigants  are  more 
and  more  ready  to  do  this. 

3rd.  Direct  that  the  next  court  of  appeal  be  the  Legal 
Board  of  our  own  Church.  When  one  party  to  the  dispute 
belongs  to  one  of  the  other  sects  the  case  should  be  taken 
before  the  general  committee  appointed  to  settle  disputes 
among  the  different  sects.  Arrangements  had  been  made  for 
this  procedure,  and  it  was  in  successful  operation  when  the 
Russians  arrived  and  upset  it.  A  new  committee  has  just 
been  appointed,  consisting  of  three  men  from  each  sect, 
and  there  is  reason  to  hope  that  this  body  will  accomplish 
much  for  the  Syrian  people  here. 

4th.  Spare  no  pains  to  show  our  disapproval  of  taking  any 
case  that  can  be  thus  adjudicated  to  the  government.  This 
should  be  preached  in  the  churches,  at  the  helpers'  meetings, 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     311 

in  the  Boards,  in  the  Knushyas,  in  the  "  Rays  of  Light,"  and 
constantly  thus  kept  before  the  people. 

5th.  The  office  of  Sarparast  should  be  abolished.  Con- 
ceived with  the  express  purpose  of  mitigating  the  troubles 
of  the  Christians,  this  office  to-day  is  a  curse  to  the  people. 
If  the  above  four  rules  be  carried  out,  we  will  shortly  see 
that  the  Sarparast  is  starved  out.  As  soon  as  it  becomes  so 
profitless  a  post  as  to  give  poor  returns  to  the  government 
as  well,  it  will  be  possible  to  have  it  abolished  altogether. 
In  our  effort  to  do  away  with  this  office,  we  will  have  on 
our  side  the  masters  of  the  villages,  the  Governor  of  the 
district,  while  the  Courts  of  the  Ecclesiastics  would  suffer 
none  by  the  change.  I  should  therefore  not  look  for  much 
difficulty  in  abolishing  altogether  this  office,  as  soon  as  we 
are  able  to  keep  our  people  away  from  it,  at  least  to  a  con- 
siderable extent.  When  this  court  is  closed,  and  when  cases 
arise  which  have  to  be  settled  by  the  authorities,  we  will 
find  that  the  customs  of  early  years  are  again  taken  up,  and 
that  the  masters  of  the  villages  will  be  appealed  to.  This 
is  the  natural  and  right  way.  The  best  friends  that  the 
Christians  have  are  their  masters  (among  the  Moslems), 
and  we  will  do  well  to  remember  this  and  to  foster  the  friend- 
ship. In  case  of  any  general  uprising  against  Christians 
no  one  will  be  able  to  do  for  our  people  as  the  masters  of 
their  villages.  It  will  be  to  the  advantage  of  our  work  here 
if  we  can  show  to  these  proprietors  of  the  land  that  we  are 
using  our  influence  to  make  their  subjects  loyal  to  them, 
and  are  advising  them  to  take  their  litigations  to  them 
rather  than  elsewhere.  Sometimes  the  settlement  of  these 
difficulties  and  law-suits  of  one  kind  and  another  will  be 
arbitrary,  but  on  the  whole  we  need  not  fear  any  great 
trouble,  for  the  cases  can  be  referred  to  the  Governor  from 
the  master  in  cases  of  importance,  and  the  masters  will  never 
assume  the  authority  they  once  had  over  their  subjects. 
There  never  was  a  riper  time  to  put  into  operation  these  or 
similar  rules  bearing  on  this  subject.  The  people  generally 
are  at  last  awake  to  the  ruinous  result  of  taking  all  their 
cases  to  the  Moslem  courts.  The  other  sects  are  prepared 
to  join  us  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  the  endeavour  to 
settle  disputes  between  Christians  without  taking  them 
before  unbelievers. 


312  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

In  our  own  Church  and  community  the  consciences  of  the 
people  should  be  aroused  and  enlightened  concerning  these 
existing  evils,  and  the  man  who  persists  in  taking  his  case 
before  the  "  unjust "  should  be  put  under  the  ban. 

If  we  in  TJrumia  agree  to  adopt  such  a  platform,  and  put 
forth  our  united  efforts  to  carry  it  out,  I  am  certain  we  will 
soon  reap  a  rich  reward,  and  secure  to  our  Church  and  people 
benefits  which  will  be  difficult  to  overestimate. 

Dr.  Cochran  would  have  rejoiced  to  be  free  from  all 
his  diwan  work  that  he  might  devote  himself  to  his 
medical  practice  and  to  personal  service  for  the  spirit- 
ual help  of  men,  but  he  simply  could  not  refuse  to  do 
good.  It  is  true  that  in  trying  to  do  good  he  incurred 
the  enmity  of  the  Dasht  Kurds.  If  we  say  that  he 
ought  not  to  have  done  anything  to  help  the  oppressed 
Christians  of  Tergawar  or  to  have  stopped  disorder, 
we  may  be  prescribing  a  course  which  would  have 
saved  him  the  wrath  of  bad  men,  but  we  would  also 
have  prevented  his  accomplishing  a  work  of  relief  and 
justice  which  is  almost  unique  in  missionary  annals. 
It  may  be  said  that  the  missionary  should  not  mingle 
in  such  matters,  and  this  is  a  sound  principle,  but 
now  and  then  a  strong  man  will  arise  whose  influence 
in  the  application  of  Christian  principle  to  civil  and 
social  life  simply  cannot  be  suppressed.  It  is  ques- 
tionable whether  any  man  in  Dr.  Cochran's  place  could 
have  been  strong  enough  to  refuse  to  use  his  strength, 
and  whether,  if  he  had,  he  could  have  retained  his 
strength.  Moreover,  he  was  working  in  a  serious  and 
complicated  situation,  where  no  line  could  be  drawn 
between  Church  and  state,  or  religious  and  civil  affairs, 
because  all  are  one,  entangled  inseparably.  What  it 
would  be  impossible  to  do,  and  unwise  to  do  if  it  were 
possible,  in  Japan,  he  simply  could  not  escape  doing 
in  Persia.  And  even  in  Persia  his  position  was  seen 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     313 

to  be  unique.  At  the  first  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Mission  after  his  death,  resolutions  were  adopted  which 
embodied  the  recognition  of  this : — 

1.  That  we  record  our  high  appreciation  of  the  unique 
and  eminent  services  rendered  by  Dr.  J.  P.  Cochran,  both 
in  using  his  influence  to  mitigate  the  oppressions  endured 
by  the  people  of  this  land  at  the  hands  of  the  rich  and 
powerful  and  in  his  wise  and  tactful  conduct  of  Mission 
affairs  with  governmental  and  diplomatic  officers. 

2.  That    while   we    sympathize   with   the    oppressed,    and 
would  gladly  do  all  in  our  power  to  bring  relief  to  them, 
the  change,  especially  to  Urumia,  brought  about  by  the  loss 
of  Dr.  Cochran,  the  irremovable  difficulties  attending  all  such 
action,  and  the  importance  of  emphasizing  the  spiritual  aims 
of  our  work,  require  us  to  exercise  the  greatest  caution  and 
prudence  in  taking  any  part  in  matters  between  Persian 
subjects  and  Persian  officials  and  landlords. 

3.  That  we  approve  of  the  missionaries  in  Urumia  Station, 
in  connection  with  the  Syriac  Evangelical  Church,  taking 
all  practicable  steps  to  strengthen  the  Legal  Board  of  that 
Church,  to  secure  the  training  of  its  members  in  upright 
dealing,  to  secure  the  peace  of  the  Church,  and  to  secure 
the  rights  of  the  Protestant  Community  as  recognized  by 
Mohammedan  law. 

The  position  which  he  occupied  was  very  delicate 
and  difficult.  He  realized  this,  and  would  gladly  have 
escaped  from  it  if  he  would  not  have  escaped,  in  doing 
so,  from  his  plain  though  perplexing  duty.  But  he 
bore  himself  in  it  with  a  skill  and  judgment  which 
were  the  admiration,  not  of  his  missionary  associates 
alone,  but  of  every  traveller  and  official  who  came  to 
know  him.  It  will  suffice  to  quote  two  representative 
testimonies. 

The  first  is  the  estimate  of  Dr.  Thomas  H.  Norton, 
American  consul  at  Smyrna,  who  was  sent  by  the 
American  government  to  Urumia  after  Mr.  Labaree's 
death : — 


314      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

It  was  my  privilege,  during  the  winter  of  1904-5,  to  pass 
five  weeks  at  Urumia,  where  I  found  a  group  of  excep- 
tionally earnest,  gifted,  and  congenial  men,  superior  to  any 
other  Mission  colony  which  I  have  encountered  in  Turkey 
or  Persia,  with  the  possible  exception  of  those  at  Beirut  and 
Constantinople.  They  were  the  second  generation  of  the 
pioneers  who  established  and  built  up  the  very  remarkable 
Mission  to  the  Nestorians. 

It  was  soon  apparent  to  me  that,  amidst  the  multiplied 
activities  of  the  Urumia  Mission  circle,  educational,  benevo- 
lent, literary,  medical,  evangelistic,  one  mind  was  dominant, 
that  of  Dr.  Cochran.  During  my  stay  as  his  guest,  and 
while  examining  and  studying  the  peculiar  situation,  which 
constantly  threatened  danger  to  his  own  life  and  the  lives 
of  the  entire  American  colony,  I  was  more  and  more  im- 
pressed by  the  marvellous  combination  of  talents  which  he 
possessed,  and  which  were  devoted  so  entirely  and  unre- 
servedly to  the  welfare  of  an  important  section  of  Persia. 
In  every  phase  of  human  activity  about  him,  were  brought 
to  bear  the  tireless  energy  and  consecrated  talent  of  a  Chris- 
tian man  of  science  and  of  a  Christian  statesman. 

Others  can  better  portray  his  happy  family  relations,  and 
his  widespread  activity  in  distinctly  evangelistic  fields. 
During  my  brief  stay  at  Urumia,  I  was  much  impressed 
by  the  medical  work  which  he  has  created  and  carried  on 
so  effectively.  The  spacious,  well-equipped  hospital  in  that 
city,  so  admirably  organized,  the  only  institution  of  its  kind 
in  a  vast  province,  is  a  lasting  monument  to  his  memory. 
The  reputation  of  Dr.  Cochran  as  a  skilful  surgeon  had 
penetrated  to  every  hamlet  in  this  province,  and  throughout 
the  wild  Kurdish  territory,  beyond  the  nearby  Turkish  fron- 
tier. A  wonderful  accuracy  in  diagnosis,  rare  dexterity  in 
surgical  manipulation,  ready  adaptation  to  unusual  condi- 
tions and  the  lack  of  facilities,  considered  almost  indispensa- 
ble for  successful  modern  hospital  practice,  all  these,  com- 
bined with  transparent  honesty,  unwearied  patience,  mar- 
vellous tact,  and  deep-seated  sympathy,  caused  him  to  be 
regarded  by  the  untutored,  often  savage,  mountaineers 
of  the  region,  with  a  mingled  awe,  veneration,  and 
love,  akin  almost  to  the  feeling  of  a  pagan  toward 
his  deity. 


AS  A  PEACE-MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     315 

The  accessory  qualities  of  tact,  sympathy,  sincerity,  and 
patience  which  so  enhanced  the  value  and  usefulness  of 
Dr.  Cochran  in  his  professional  career,  found  expression  in 
another  field.  Although  American  educational  and  evangel- 
istic work  was  established  at  Urumia  three-quarters  of  a 
century  ago,  no  American  diplomatic  or  consular  official  had 
ever  visited  that  section  of  Persia  prior  to  my  arrival  in 
1904.  It  was  inevitable  that  some  one  should,  in  a  measure, 
assume  the  duties  which  ordinarily  fall  upon  an  accredited 
representative  of  the  country.  By  common  consent  such  re- 
sponsibilities and  duties  were  confided  to  Dr.  Cochran,  and 
he  grew  to  be  regarded  by  the  Persian  authorities  as  prac- 
tically the  representative  of  all  American  interests.  He 
was  the  adviser  of  the  colony  of  naturalized  American  citi- 
zens, which  has  gradually  been  formed  in  and  about  the  city 
of  Urumia.  In  a  variety  of  ways  he  gained  the  confidence 
of  the  authorities  and  of  the  influential  men  of  different 
creeds  and  races  about  him.  Even  among  the  fanatic  and 
corrupt,  there  seemed  to  be  an  unquestioned  recognition  of 
his  sense  of  equity  and  his  consideration  for  the  rights  of 
others. 

Here  was  an  excellent  school  for  the  development  of  the 
diplomatic  side  of  his  character  in  the  midst  of  the  dis- 
cordant elements  of  northwestern  Persia,  where  the  native 
rivalries  of  Kurd,  Turk,  Persian,  Syrian,  Armenian,  and 
Jew  are  intensified  by  the  effort  of  the  Kussian  to  gain 
political  ascendency.  It  was  an  admirable  school,  and  it 
produced  a  finished  diplomat.  The  abilities  called  into  play 
in  a  confined,  remote  region  would  have  done  honour  to  an 
actor  on  the  broader  international  stage. 

It  has  been  my  privilege  to  meet  several  connected  with 
the  American  missionary  effort  in  the  Orient  who  have  dis- 
played more  or  less  of  the  elements  entering  into  the  make-up 
of  the  diplomat.  The  environment  tends  inevitably  to  bring 
out  and  develop  any  tendencies  in  this  direction.  No  one, 
however,  in  my  rather  extended  acquaintance,  unless  it  be 
the  honoured  ex-President  of  Robert  College  at  Constanti- 
nople, seemed  to  combine  in  such  admirable  equilibrium  the 
various  qualifications  needed  for  the  successful  transaction 
of  business  with  Oriental  officials.  I  felt  personally  that  my 
brief  stay  at  Urumia,  in  daily  converse  with  Dr.  Cochran, 


316  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

noting  carefully  his  manners  and  methods  in  meeting  Moslem 
officials  and  friends,  was  of  inestimable  value. 

The  other  testimony  is  from  Mr.  John  Tyler,  who 
for  the  last  sixteen  years  of  Dr.  Cochran's  life  was 
secretary  of  the  American  Legation  and  charge 
d'affaires  in  Teheran  during  the  frequent  absences  of 
the  American  ministers,  and  who  had  ample  opportuni- 
ties to  learn,  both  from  his  own  correspondence  and 
from  Persians  of  high  and  low  positions,  what  Dr. 
Cochran's  character  and  work  were: — 

In  the  exercise  of  a  practical  sympathy  for  the  removal 
of  grievances,  the  righting  of  wrongs,  settling  disputes, 
and  protecting  the  weak  against  the  strong,  Dr.  Cochran 
earned  for  himself  gratitude  and  respect,  from  the  highest 
in  place  to  the  lowest  in  position.  To  him  life  presented 
many  aspects,  and  conduct  many  attitudes,  but  where  a 
necessity  for  mediation  or  interference  arose,  he  grudged 
neither  trouble  nor  time,  and  bestowed  the  same  care  and 
skill  in  the  solution  of  social  problems  as  he  gave  to  the 
treatment  of  bodily  infirmities.  The  need  of  his  services 
was  the  only  plea  he  required. 

For  a  period  now  of  fifteen  years  in  which  I  have  been 
actively  engaged  in  diplomatic  and  consular  work,  and  espe- 
cially during  the  many  times  I  have  had  charge  of  American 
interests  at  the  centre  of  government  in  Persia,  I  had  fre- 
quent occasions  to  invoke  the  advice  and  co-operation  of 
Dr.  Cochran  in  the  removal  of  misunderstandings  and  the 
settlement  of  disputes  in  which  American  citizens  were  in- 
volved; and  it  was  generally  due  to  his  tact,  prudence,  and 
discretion  that  friction  was  prevented  and  unnecessary  de- 
lays avoided. 

In  the  absence  of  direct  American  representation  in  the 
northwestern  regions  of  Persia,  and  the  frequent  calls  to 
intervene  in  questions  of  a  more  or  less  official  nature, 
Dr.  Cochran  had  come  to  be  looked  upon  as  the  intermediary 
of  his  government;  and  in  transactions  to  which  he  gave 
his  attention,  he  probably  wielded  a  friendly  influence  greater 


AS  A  PEACE  MAKER  AND  DIPLOMATIST     317 

than  would  have  been  accorded  to  an  accredited  and  re- 
sponsible agent.  His  transparency  of  character,  his  earnest 
and  diligent  search  after  truth  and  right,  and  his  undeviating 
adherence  to  the  principles  of  justice  lent  to  his  representa- 
tions and  pleadings  an  irresistible  claim  on  behalf  of  any 
cause  he  took  up  to  fair  and  generous  consideration.  His 
accurate  knowledge  of  the  Persian  variety  of  human  nature, 
its  strength  and  its  weakness,  its  pleasant  foibles  and  gener- 
ous instincts,  its  early  promises  and  late  performances,  gave 
him  considerable  advantage  in  the  method  and  manner  of 
presenting  his  cause  and  reaching  the  end  in  view. 

It  was  to  me  a  source  of  the  greatest  satisfaction  to  have  at 
the  important  and  most  secluded  field  of  the  Society's  work  in 
Persia  a  gentleman  endowed  with  such  qualities  of  tact, 
intelligence,  prudence,  and  moderation  in  dealing  with  ques- 
tions of  an  official  character.  Trusted,  respected,  and  ad- 
mired by  the  authorities,  and  loved  and  venerated  by  Amer- 
ican citizens,  he  was  a  most  capable  and  ideal  intermediary. 
Combined  with  this,  his  unfailing  courtesy  and  considera- 
tion for  the  religious  sentiments  and  susceptibilities  of  peo- 
ple of  all  denominations  of  faith,  never  aggressive,  but  always 
ready  to  defend  a  just  cause,  and  extend  his  protection  to 
those  who  had  no  claim  upon  his  notice  except  the  plea  of 
need,  gave  to  his  representations  in  whatever  quarter  they 
were  made,  a  careful  and  considerate  attention,  and  made 
him  one  of  the  most  useful  and  successful  of  colleagues. 

Such  services  as  those  rendered  by  Dr.  Cochran  with 
patriotic  and  unselfish  devotion  in  the  cause  of  humanity 
will  make  the  Society  which  sent  him,  and  the  country  to 
which  he  belonged,  feel  proud,  and  if  the  record  of  his  deeds 
is  not  inscribed  on  marble,  it  is  engraved  in  the  hearts  of 
those  he  loved  and  for  whom  he  laboured. 


XVI 
AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY 

DR.  COCHRAN  was  primarily,  of  course,  a  med- 
ical missionary.    The  general  influence  which 
he  wielded  was  secondary.    It  came  to  him,  and 
was  used  by  him  as  he  went  about  his  business  of 
opening  the  eyes  of  the  unseeing,  restoring  the  lame 
and  halt,  and  healing  the  sick  of  their  diseases.    The 
story  of  his  life,  as  it  has  been  told,  has  been  necessarily 
filled  with  incidents  of  his  medical  work,  but  something 
should  be  said  in  a  more  connected  way  of  what  he  did, 
and  how  he  worked  as  a  physician. 

The  centre  of  his  medical  work  was  the  hospital. 
The  first  building  was  erected  in  1880.  A  mile  or  two 
from  the  city  of  Urumia,  on  the  banks  of  the  river 
of  the  same  name,  the  Mission  had  purchased  fifteen 
acres  of  land.  Four  acres  of  this  were  enclosed,  Per- 
sian fashion,  by  a  wall  fifteen  feet  high.  It  was  a 
beautiful  garden,  with  streams  of  water  running 
through  it.  Avenues  lined  with  sycamore,  pear,  and 
poplar  trees,  divided  it  into  four  squares,  and  filled 
it  with  pleasant  shade. 

On  one  of  these  squares  [wrote  Dr.  Cochran  in  one  of  his 
reports]  the  hospital  is  built,  on  another  the  college,  and  on 
the  remaining  two  the  residences  of  the  superintendent  of  the 
college  and  of  the  physicians.  The  building  is  seventy-five 
feet  by  thirty-five,  faced  with  red  brick,  and  two  stories  and 
a  half  high.  Aside  from  accommodations  for  the  sick,  it 

318 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  319 

has  drug  rooms,  operating  and  assistants'  rooms,  and  store- 
rooms. It  has  two  large  wards,  and  six  smaller  wards.  The 
large  wards  have  sixty  beds,  the  smaller  from  three  to  six. 
The  beds  are  of  straw  on  high  wooden  bedsteads,  and  are 
furnished  with  sheets  and  quilts  made  in  the  native  style,  i.e., 
of  wool,  with  a  covering  of  bright  calico.  The  windows  are 
curtained  with  gay  calico;  pictures  furnished  by  our  friends 
adorn  the  walls,  and  in  nearly  every  window  are  plants.  The 
floors  are  either  carpeted  or  of  brick.  The  kitchen  is  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  main  building,  where  the  cooking  is 
done  in  a  native  oven  (a  large  earthen  jar,  three  feet  wide  by 
six  feet  deep). 

The  medical  staff,  at  its  fullest,  consisted  of  Dr. 
Cochran  himself,  a  woman  physician,  Dr.  Emma  T. 
Miller,  an  assistant  physician  from  the  number  of 
Dr.  Cochran's  own  graduate  pupils,  the  necessary 
native  nurses,  and  also  a  class  of  medical  students. 
In  the  hospital  were  received  those  of  every  race  and 
religion  whose  cases  required  long  and  careful  treat- 
ment or  surgical  operations,  especially  those  who  came 
from  a  distance,  and  the  poor  whose  homes  were  desti- 
tute of  the  comforts  needed  by  the  sick.  On  two  days 
of  every  week  the  physicians  were  regularly  ready  to 
see  any  sick  who  might  come,  and  to  prescribe  the 
remedies  called  for  by  their  diseases,  but  on  other  days 
the  sick  were  not  turned  away,  and  every  day  there 
came  the  pitiable  caravan  of  woe  and  pain.  Indeed, 
it  is  safe  to  say  that  Dr.  Cochran  never  spent  a  day 
without  seeing  the  sick,  and  never  went  into  Urumia 
City  or  to  any  village  without  being  stopped  by  some 
suffering  soul.  The  number  of  sick  seen  by  the  doctor 
himself  was  in  some  years  of  his  life  not  less  than 
10,000.  The  number  of  in-patients  in  the  hospital,  from 
the  beginning  till  Dr.  Cochran's  death,  was,  according 
to  the  records  kept  by  him,  5,783  persons.  Of  these 


320      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

more  than  1,100  required  surgical  operations,  and 
nearly  all  of  these  operations  were  performed  by  Dr. 
Cochran's  own  hands,  besides  other  operations  per- 
formed at  times  outside  the  hospital.  Two  hundred  and 
forty  of  these  surgical  cases  were  for  stone,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  for  cataract.  Dr.  Cochran's  skill  as  a 
surgeon  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  of  the  first  one 
hundred  and  eight  cases  of  stone  only  two  died,  one  of 
them  from  another  disease  two  months  after  the  opera- 
tion. Of  these  one  hundred  and  eight  cases,  thirty-eight 
were  Persian  Moslems,  and  nine  Kurds;  and  his  pa- 
tients always  included  large  numbers  of  Moslems  as 
well  as  Christians.  The  variety  of  the  work  done  is  in- 
dicated by  the  fact  that  in  one  year  the  list  of  patients 
kept  in  the  hospital  represented  about  seventy  different 
diseases.  One  year,  besides  patients  kept  in  the  hos- 
pital and  those  who  came  to  Dr.  Cochran  for  treatment, 
1,145  visits  were  made  to  the  homes  of  patients,  and 
still  another  year  1,208,  including  visits  to  thirty- 
eight  villages.  Not  infrequently  he  made  visits  to 
Khoi  and  Salmas.  Patients  came  to  him  from  great 
distances — Van,  Mosul,  Jezireh  on  the  Tigris,  every 
part  of  Hakari,  every  city  and  region  of  Azerbaijan, 
and  Caucasia.  They  included  every  class,  but  the 
majority  were  always  the  neediest,  the  poor  who  lacked 
the  comforts  that  even  a  well  man  needs  for  his  best 
good,  and  whose  sufferings  in  sickness  were  multiplied 
many  fold. 

The  character  of  the  work  can  be  indicated  best  by 
giving  a  few  specific  cases  and  incidents  connected 
with  it.  During  the  last  year  of  Dr.  Cochran's  life,  a 
patient  who  came  to  him  in  order  to  avoid  a  difficult 
journey  to  Europe  was  His  Excellency,  Saad  es  Sal- 
taneh  of  Kazvin,  a  nobleman  whose  services  had  ren- 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  321 

dered  him  famous  throughout  Persia.  He  was  suffer- 
ing from  a  deadly  disease  (cancer)  that  required  a 
very  difficult  operation.  The  operation  was  entirely 
successful.  Another  patient  this  same  year  was  His 
Excellency,  Bahadur  ul  Mulk  of  Sain  Kulla.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  during  the  years  of  Dr.  Cochran's 
presence  in  Urumia  no  governor  ever  came  to  the  city 
without  being  under  obligations  to  him  for  medical 
services,  and  also  without  being  bound  to  him  by  bonds 
of  love  and  friendship.  Both  H.  I.  M.  Muzaffr-i- 
Din  Shah,  when  Vali  Ahd,  and  his  son  who  succeeded 
him,  when  they  were  in  Urumia,  or  when  Dr.  Cochran 
was  in  Tabriz,  consulted  with  him  with  reference  to 
their  health.  Many  Kurds  of  high  rank,  such  as 
Sheikh  Mohammed  Sadik  of  Nochea,  either  came  them- 
selves to  the  hospital  for  treatment  or  sent  members 
of  their  families.  So,  also,  among  the  Christians  of 
different  races  and  sects,  none  stood  higher  in  honour 
than  the  doctor.  There  was  no  more  welcome  guest  at 
the  Patriarchate  of  the  Nestorian  Church  in  Kochanis 
in  the  Vilayet  of  Van. 

As  has  already  been  indicated,  Dr.  Cochran's  mother 
was  for  years  both  a  matron  to  the  hospital  and  a 
mother  to  all  who  came  to  it.  Here  she  poured  out 
her  warm  missionary  impulse  in  unwithholding  service. 

Some  boxes  hare  come  from  America  [she  wrote  to  a 
daughter  in  1891].  There  is  nothing  for  me,  but  I  am 
entirely  satisfied  because  there  are  things  for  the  hospital. 
I  am  as  glad  as  if  they  were  for  me  personally.  I  have  a 
great  deal  to  do  this  vacation,  getting  sheets  made  for  the 
hospital  beds,  getting  quilts  and  carpets  washed,  and  all  the 
rooms  cleaned,  etc. 

I  spent  all  the  forenoon  in  the  hospital.  After  attending 
to  my  duties  as  matron,  I  helped  Joseph  get  the  dispensary 
in  order. 


322  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

Two  new  cases  in  the  hospital.  This  morning  I  read  a 
while  in  the  women's  ward.  I  longed  to  make  the  room 
attractive.  As  I  arranged  flowers  in  water,  and  put  a  little 
touch  of  prettiness  here  and  there,  the  patients  watched  me 
with  exclamations  of  delight. 

Poor  Joseph  is  driven  with  work,  and  he  is  in  the  midst 
of  all  manner  of  diseases.  I  am  glad  to  do  what  I  can  to 
help  him  in  his  work.  I  wish  I  could  do  more.  Perhaps  I 
do  as  much  as  I  am  able.  This  is  the  best  place  seemingly 
for  me.  Your  father,  on  his  deathbed,  expressed  the  hope 
that  I  would  remain  in  Persia. 

The  sight  of  such  love  and  of  the  tender  affection 
of  mother  and  son  in  their  common  work  exerted  a 
great  influence  upon  every  one  who  saw  it.  Mrs. 
Shedd,  Sr.,  writes: — 

The  doctor's  mother  was  a  lovely  woman,  and  her  in- 
fluence upon  the  boys  of  our  Station  was  very  great.  My 
son  John  wrote  to  me  after  he  had  been  in  America  some 
time,  "  I  would  rather  call  on  Mrs.  Cochran  than  any  one 
I  have  met  in  America." 

She  seemed  able  to  draw  out  all  that  was  chivalrous  and 
manly  in  a  boy's  nature.  When  I  first  went  to  Persia  there 
were  six  children  in  the  Cochran  home,  and  what  a  lively, 
happy  group  they  were !  I  think  that  the  doctor  owed  much 
to  his  mother.  The  perfect  courtesy,  the  tender  sympathy, 
generous  helpfulness,  and  faithful  friendship  which  were 
marked  traits  of  the  mother  belonged,  also,  to  the  son.  When 
she  died,  a  native  mason  who  worked  on  the  Mission  houses 
remarked,  "Mrs.  Cochran  never  made  us  feel  that  we  were 
inferior." 

Once  when  I  was  teaching  a  class  of  young  men  in  ethics, 
the  duty  of  children  to  parents  was  the  subject.  I  spoke  of 
the  duty  of  sons  to  the  mother,  which  is  often  so  neglected 
where  women  are  despised.  One  boy  spoke  up,  "Yes,"  he 
said,  "  what  you  say  is  true.  The  Hakim  Sahib  every  day 
walks  on  the  roof  with  his  mother." 

The  hospital  was  administered  with  a  conscientious 
frugality  almost  incredible.  For  many  years  the  entire 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  323 

appropriation  for  the  hospital  and  his  other  medical 
work  was  one  thousand  dollars.  In  1891  he  asked  for 
a  slight  increase,  saying  in  justification: — 

The  $1,000  which  we  have  had  annually  in  previous  years, 
together  with  our  receipts  here,  have  never  been  enough  for 
the  work  which  has  forced  itself  upon  us.  The  hospital 
is  the  largest  item  of  expense,  but  we  carry  on  a  large  dis- 
pensary and  outside  practice  aside  from  the  Mission  circle. 
Then  this  estimate  must  cover  the  expenses  of  the  care  and 
repair  of  two  large  hospital  buildings,  and  all  their  outhouses, 
— dispensary,  physicians'  and  assistants'  residences, — stables, 
and  grounds  for  all  these.  In  this  country  of  need,  roofs 
and  mud  walls  and  water  courses  on  the  surface,  constant 
and  heavy  repairs  are  demanded.  Freight  is  very  expensive. 
This,  added  to  the  bill  for  medicines  and  a  few  new  instru- 
ments needed  each  year,  makes  an  alarmingly  large  bill. 
We  also  have  a  medical  class  of  six  students,  for  whom  we 
furnish  books  and  furnished  room.  Considering  all  that  is 
done  in  this  department,  I  think  all  feel  we  are  very  eco- 
nomical. 

In  later  years  the  appropriation  grew  to  $1,500,  but 
it  required  all  his  economy  to  compass  so  great  a  work 
on  so  slender  resources.,  and  he  did  not  succeed  without 
making  personal  contributions  that  he  could  ill  afford. 
He  helped  out  by  utilizing  all  available  drugs  and 
herbs.  Both  in  the  hospital  and  among  the  people 
he  always  prescribed,  if  he  could,  remedies  within  the 
reach  of  the  people,  and  reduced  to  the  minimum  the 
use  of  expensive,  imported  drugs.  He  knew  what  was 
obtainable  and  serviceable  in  the  country,  and  he 
taught  its  use.  He  was  clear  in  his  conviction  that 
it  was  right  to  make  the  work,  as  far  as  possible,  self- 
supporting.  In  beginning  it,  as  he  wrote  in  1883 : — 

I  was  expected  to  do  everything  free  or  nearly  so.  But 
notwithstanding  the  education  of  the  people  in  the  past  in 


324  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

this  direction,  I  have  always  made  it  the  rule  to  charge 
every  patient  something  for  medicine,  unless  he  was  very 
poor  or  had  done  some  special  favour  to  the  Mission  (Gov- 
ernors, for  instance).  So  in  the  hospital  I  have  always  and 
do  now  charge  all  that  I  think  I  can  get,  and  we  are  daily 
encouraged  by  the  progress  made  in  this  line.  As  I  say, 
we  are  daily  advancing  in  this  direction,  constantly  keeping 
this  thought  in  mind,  and  for  much  that  is  done  we  get 
full  returns.  There  are  many  perfectly  penniless  for  whom 
we  do  what  we  can  without  charge,  and  many  who  only  pay 
in  part.  I  feel  quite  sure  that  we  can  soon  support  a  bed 
for  one  year  for  less  than  $25,  for  this  year  the  appropriation, 
with  our  receipts  for  the  patients,  has  enabled  us  to  treat 
a  large  number  of  patients,  and  to  do  considerable  furnish- 
ing of  the  rooms  and  necessary  repairs  and  preparations  on 
the  premises,  walks,  drains,  washroom,  etc.  All  our  wards 
are  not  yet  furnished;  our  nurses  must  be  increased,  and  the 
three  students  who  have  just  graduated  from  their  medical 
course  must  now  receive,  the  two  of  them  who  remain  with 
me,  about  $14  a  month.  For  students  or  assistants,  for 
nurses,  and  for  drugs  and  medicines  we  have  asked  a  certain 
sum  in  our  estimates,  but  this  by  no  means  covers  the  actual 
cost;  we  look  to  the  bed  funds  and  to  the  receipts  for  the 
balance.  As  I  said  before,  while  we  have  and  will  charge 
all  whom  we  can  for  services  and  medicines,  you  must  not 
expect  that  we  are  in  a  position  in  Urumia,  now  at  least,  to 
make  our  institution  self-supporting.  There  are  no  Euro- 
peans here,  as  in  China,  India,  etc.,  to  contribute  toward  its 
support.  We  have  received  so  far  $3.00  for  it  from  a  native, 
outside  of  what  individuals  in  the  Station  have  given  and 
patients  paid.  If  we  can  get  one-quarter  of  the  total  expense 
of  running  the  institution  from  the  patients,  we  will  be 
doing  better  than  the  great  majority  of  hospitals  in  America 
and  Europe,  and  this  is  all  that  can  possibly  be  expected 
for  the  present.  You  will  please  bear  in  mind  that  it  is 
only  to  the  patients,  the  majority  of  whom  are  very  poor, 
that  we  can  look  for  money  in  this  country,  at  present  at 
least.  I  say  for  the  present  because  it  is  our  constant  en- 
deavour to  advance  in  this  direction,  and  by  slowly  educating 
the  people  to  pay  for  services  and  medicines,  and  with  the 
growing  success  of  our  work  we  may  do  better  soon. 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  325 

In  1901  the  question  of  self-support  in  medical  work 
was  laid  by  the  Board  before  most  of  its  medical  mis- 
sionaries. Dr.  Cochran  replied: — 

There  was  an  inclosure  in  your  letter  from  some  medical 
missionary  regarding  self-support  in  the  medical  depart- 
ment. It  has  reference  to  China  especially,  but  it  may  be 
equally  applicable  to  many  another  field.  You  ask  for  the 
opinion  of  all  medical  men  on  the  question.  I  am  fully  in 
favour  of  making  the  medical  work  as  nearly  self-supporting 
as  possible,  so  far  as  this  can  be  done  without  giving  the 
idea  of  its  being  a  money-making  enterprise,  and  so  far  as 
it  does  provide  for  the  very  needy  people  who  would  otherwise 
go  without  treatment. 

I  have  also  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  would  be  wise 
to  adopt  the  plan  already  in  operation  in  many  Stations 
of  having  the  missionaries  pay  for  the  medicines  they  use. 
This  I  would  do,  not  because  a  very  large  sum  could  be 
raised  for  the  department  thereby,  but  because  it  would  make 
it  so  much  easier  to  charge  all  the  servants  and  other  em- 
ployes of  the  Mission. 

Again  and  again  he  had  to  close  the  hospital  because 
he  had  no  money  with  which  to  conduct  it.  This  was 
not  always  a  loss,  for  it  was  the  only  way  in  which 
he  could  get  any  rest,  and  the  want  of  funds  was  an 
explanation  which  the  people  understood.  When  he 
was  away  on  furlough,  it  was,  of  course,  closed,  and 
he  would  strive  to  improve  the  equipment  by  the  use 
of  what  could  be  saved  from  the  hospital  appropriation. 
Usually  there  was  little  or  nothing ;  other  departments 
of  the  work  consuming  it  all,  with  Dr.  Cochran's 
assent,  as  he  was  always  more  ready  to  yield  to  others 
than  to  claim  for  himself.  He  never  had  any  feeling 
of  jealousy  of  other  branches  of  work,  or  consented 
to  curtail  them  for  the  sake  of  his  own. 

Although  he  was  constantly  sought  after  by  the  rich, 
and  always  responded  to  their  calls,  his  work  was 


326  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

chiefly,  of  course,  for  a  very  different  class.  Most  of 
those  in  the  hospital  were  always  the  poorest  of  the 
poor.  One  day  Dr.  Cochran  was  passing  through  the 
streets  of  the  city  and  saw  a  little  beggar  boy,  whose 
face  was  flushed  with  the  burning  of  fever.  He  told 
his  servant  to  bring  him  home.  After  he  had  cured 
him  of  his  sickness,  his  kindness  of  heart  did  not  per- 
mit him  to  send  the  boy  out  to  be  a  homeless  orphan 
beggar.  Until  he  died  the  doctor  cared  for  him,  and 
after  the  doctor's  death  he  was  placed  in  an  orphanage. 
He  writes  in  one  of  his  reports,  "  We  are  often  pained 
beyond  measure  by  being  obliged  to  turn  away  hope- 
less cases  that  have  come  to  us  in  the  strongest  con- 
fidence that  they  could  be  relieved.  One  night  nine 
Nestorians,  most  forlorn  and  ragged  creatures,  lame, 
blind,  and  leprous,  turned  up  at  our  gates,  footsore 
and  weary,  after  a  perilous  journey  for  them  of  fifteen 
days.  There  was  but  one  of  the  nine  that  could  be 
helped,  and  the  duty  of  explaining  to  the  rest  their 
absolutely  hopeless  condition  was  nearly  as  hard  a  task 
for  me  as  it  was  for  them  to  hear  it.  They  had  come 
from  the  neighbourhood  of  Van,  by  a  circuitous  route, 
for  greater  safety,  often  hiding  among  rocks  in  the  day 
time,  and  travelling  by  night." 

One  of  Dr.  Cochran's  last  patients  was  Mirza  Fazl 
Ullah  Agha  (Bala  Mujtahid),  a  Moslem  ecclesiastic, 
famous  for  his  learning,  and  for  years  a  warm  friend  of 
Dr.  Cochran.  The  last  visit  Dr.  Cochran  made  to  him 
was  the  last  one  he  made  to  any  sick  person  outside 
the  hospital,  and  this  time  he  fell  in  a  swoon  on  the 
doorstep  from  weakness.  A  few  days  before,  as  Dr. 
Cochran  was  going  to  see  this  mujtahid,  a  poor  man 
in  the  street  was  overheard  complaining,  and  even  curs- 
ing his  lot.  The  physician  asked  what  the  trouble  was, 
and  learned  that  the  man  said  he  was  poor  and  had  a 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  327 

sick  wife,  whom  no  one  would  help,  while  this  great 
mujtahid  was  able  to  command  the  services  of  this  skil- 
ful physician.  Dr.  Cochran  asked  where  he  lived,  and 
something  about  the  circumstances  of  his  case,  and 
although  he  was  almost  at  the  door  of  the  mujtahid, 
and  the  man's  home  was  in  another  part  of  the  city, 
he  insisted  on  first  going  to  see  the  poor  woman,  and 
then  returning  to  the  house  of  the  mujtahid.  A  similar 
incident  occurred  once  when  he  was  starting  to  see  a 
sick  lady  of  high  rank  and  was  stopped  by  some  poor 
women  of  a  village  near  the  hospital.  The  servants 
who  had  come  with  the  message  from  the  lady,  im- 
patient with  Dr.  Cochran  for  delaying,  and  angry  with 
the  peasant  women  for  daring  to  interrupt,  began  to 
speak  harshly  to  them.  Dr.  Cochran  immediately 
turned  on  them,  and  told  them  that  he  would  first  see 
the  women,  because  their  mistress  had  all  the  comforts 
of  riches,  while  these  poor  women  had  to  work  hard, 
and  had  but  few  comforts.  He  had  no  higher  ambition 
than  to  serve  the  poor  with  skill  and  love  and  devotion. 
As  with  all  medical  missionaries,  he  had  to  accept 
cases  of  all  kinds.  There  were  no  specialists  to  whom 
he  could  dismiss  his  patients  and  relieve  himself  of 
responsibility.  Unless  he  gave  help,  he  knew  that  no 
help  would  be  given.  He  shirked  nothing,  accordingly, 
however  hard.  One  year  he  varied  his  form  of  his 
report  to  the  Board,  which  usually  was  full  of  incident 
and  colour,  though  absolutely  empty  of  himself,  and 
wrote : — 

I  have  seldom  given  a  report  of  the  diseases  which  have 
been  treated  in  the  hospital,  as  such  things  are  not  often 
interesting  reading,  nor  do  even  the  secretaries  of  the  Board 
care  for  them,  but  for  a  change  I  will  give  you  a  list  of 
the  diseases  and  numbers  of  same  which  we  have  met  in 


328  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

the  hospital  since  opening  it  last  fall,  November  1st.  I  have 
brought  these  figures  up  to  date  to  make  the  year  right. 
As  you  know,  the  hospital  is  closed  more  or  less  each  summer, 
although  the  rest  of  the  medical  work  keeps  on. 

Typhoid  fever,  4;  entropium,  2;  frostbite,  2;  locomotor 
ataxia,  1;  torticollis,  1;  fistulse,  2  (1  in  ano,  and  1  urethro- 
rectal) ;  otitis,  1 ;  abscesses,  2  (1  in  foot,  1  in  axilla) ; 
abortion,  1;  gonorrhrea,  5;  atresia,  nares,  1;  melancholia,  2; 
poisoned  by  arsenic,  1 ;  contusion  of  ribs,  1 ;  enlarged  prostate, 
2;  anal  warts,  1;  incontinence  of  urine,  2;  periostitis,  2; 
hemorrhoids,  9;  tonsilitis,  10;  valvular  lesions,  5;  stone  in 
urethra,  1;  stone  in  bladder,  23  (18  lithotomies,  perineal,  1 
suprapubic,  4  lithotrities) ;  syphilis,  2 ;  ulcers,  5  (legs,  hand, 
cheek,  and  chin)  ;  cirrhosis  of  liver,  5;  cystitis,  4;  sciatica,  5; 
trichiasis,  8;  conjunctivitis,  9;  keratitis,  15;  cataract,  24 
(operations,  23) ;  trachoma,  1 ;  diphtheria,  5 ;  tumours,  6 
(lipoma  3,  cystic  3) ;  hemiplegia,  4 ;  nephritis,  5 ;  sterility,  2 ; 
tetanus,  1;  vomiting  of  pregnancy,  1;  glaucoma,  1;  pneu- 
monia, 4;  pleuritis,  10;  chronic  bronchitis,  16;  tuberculosis, 
16;  erysipelas,  5;  malaria,  30;  mastitis,  7;  adenitis,  10; 
orchitis,  4;  neuralgia,  6;  tenia,  10;  lupus,  1;  acute  rheuma- 
tism, 9;  chronic  rheumatism,  2;  dysentery,  11;  indigestion, 
18;  chronic  diarrhoea,  8;  cancer,  5  (stomach  2,  breast  2,  lip 
1) ;  uterine  diseases,  13  (metritis  3,  prolapse  4,  lac.  cervix 
3,  menorrhagia  1,  amenorrhcea  2) ;  gunshot  wounds,  3 
(femur,  tibia,  and  jaw)  ;  dislocation  of  humerus,  1;  fractures, 
4  (fibula  1,  ulna  and  radius  1,  comp.  tibia  and  fibular 
2);  amputations,  5  (toes  1,  thigh  1,  leg  1,  arm  at  shoulder, 
1,  breast  1) ;  caries  of  bones,  48  (maxilla  3,  tibia  9,  frontal  1, 
humerus  6,  ulna  1,  radius  2,  ribs  1,  femur  6,  vertebrae  10, 
Pott's  disease,  calcis  3,  palate  1,  tarsal  3,  jaw  2). 

Hospital  cases  for  this  period     .     .  455 

Dispensary  cases 3,251 

Outside  of  hospital  and  dispensary  .  5,031 

Visits  to  the  homes  of  sick  .     .     .  1,131 


Total  seen  by  me 9,868 

By  native  assistants,  about    .    .    .  4,000 

13,868 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  329 

Adding  to  these  those  seen  by  Dr.  Miller  since  her  return, 
this  department  has  had  over  14,000  attendances.  Hos- 
pital cases  are,  of  course,  seen  one  or  more  times  daily  all 
the  time  they  are  with  us,  while  the  patients  treated  outside 
the  hospital  are  for  the  most  part  seen  but  once.  This  is  the 
report  for  fourteen  months. 

With  such  a  clinic  he  was  able  to  give  the  young  men 
whom  he  always  had  studying  with  him  in  a  medical 
class  no  mean  training. 

As  his  hospital  was  the  first  hospital  in  Persia,  so 
also  he  was  the  first  to  send  out  physicians,  natives 
of  Persia  trained  in  Western  medical  science,  and  so 
to  extend  the  benefits  of  his  profession  to  many  whom 
he  never  himself  saw.  The  services  of  these  physicians 
have  been  recognized  by  honours  and  titles  bestowed 
on  them  by  the  Persian  government,  and  the  Governor- 
General  of  the  Province  sometimes  counter-signed  the 
certificates  given  them  by  Dr.  Cochran.  At  the  time 
of  Dr.  Cochran's  death  there  were  pupils  of  his  prac- 
tising in  the  following  places  in  Persia :  three  in  Khoi, 
one  in  Salinas,  one  in  Ardebil,  three  in  Soujbulak,  one 
in  Kurdistan,  and  six  in  Urumia.  One  other  was 
practising  in  Gawar  in  Turkey.  Two  of  these  were 
Moslems,  while  the  others  were  Nestorians.  Besides 
these,  not  a  few  others  have  doubtless  been  influenced  by 
the  example  of  Dr.  Cochran's  work  to  go  abroad,  and 
there  gain  a  medical  education,  the  benefits  of  which 
have  come  back  to  Persia.  It  has  been  a  wonder  to 
those  who  knew  Dr.  Cochran  that  he  could  find  time  to 
teach  these  pupils.  They  learned  much  in  the  practical 
work  of  the  hospital.  Dr.  Cochran's  associates  gave 
some  of  the  lessons,  but  their  chief  teacher,  and  none 
was  more  faithful,  was  Dr.  Cochran  himself.  He  often 
taught  in  the  evenings  when  it  was  impossible  to  find 
time  in  the  days,  crowded  with  demands  from  others. 


330      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

Still  another  way  in  which  Dr.  Cochran  was  able  as  a 
physician  to  accomplish  much  good  was  by  the  exten- 
sion of  the  knowledge  of  medicine  and  hygiene  in  the 
country. 
In  one  of  his  early  reports,  he  wrote  of  this  work : — 

My  two  students  who  have  had  instruction  during  all  the 
year,  with  the  exception  of  a  short  vacation,  have  made 
praiseworthy  progress  in  their  studies.  They  have  at  present, 
in  addition  to  their  medical  studies,  a  daily  lesson  with  my 
sister  who  will  do  much  to  assist  in  the  varied  cares  of  the 
hospital  as  well  as  help  the  students  to  more  readily  under- 
stand their  English  text-books  by  thus  giving  them  this 
lesson. 

The  students  are  now  competent  to  render  assistance  in 
the  dispensary  service  and  in  the  hospital  wards.  No  pecu- 
niary assistance,  more  than  books,  room,  and  fuel,  is  given 
to  them.  Of  course,  it  is  our  chief  aim  to  fit  them  to  be 
missionary  physicians.  The  call  at  present  for  good  young 
men,  educated  in  the  science  of  medicine,  is  imperative  in 
the  district  contiguous  to  ours,  and  if  these  two  young  men 
prove  themselves  competent  physicians  and  faithful  Chris- 
tian workers,  a  large  field  of  labour  is  open  to  them. 

The  training  of  men  for  so  responsible  a  position,  is  of 
course,  a  cause  of  anxiety;  time  and  labour  must  be  given, 
but  we  take  courage  when  we  remember  that  all  that  is  re- 
quired of  us  is  faithful  labour  day  by  day,  and  after  that  is 
done,  the  outcome  can  be  left  with  the  Lord. 

In  a  later  report  he  writes: — 

The  medical  class  consists  at  present  of  six  young  men, 
the  seventh  having  gone  to  Teheran  to  be  with  Dr.  Wishard. 
We  have  one  studying  pharmacy.  Of  the  six,  five  are  Nes- 
torians,  and  one  a  Moslem  from  Khoi.  This  man  entered 
the  class  after  the  others  did,  and  so  will  probably  be  unable 
to  pass  the  final  examinations  next  July,  as  the  others  hope 
to  do.  He  is  a  good  scholar  and  a  good  man.  He  has  asked 
to  be  baptized.  This  is  the  third  year  these  boys  are  study- 
ing, having  read  each  year  from  eight  to  ten  months. 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  331 

Last  winter  Dr.  Miller  gave  them  lessons  in  histology  and 
miscroscopy,  Dr.  Isaac  in  materia  medica,  and  I  in  two 
lessons.  Dr.  Holmes,  who  was  here  for  a  couple  of  months, 
also  gave  them  a  course  of  lectures.  In  order  to  fit  them 
for  practice,  as  well  as  to  help  them  earn  something,  the 
work  in  the  hospital  and  dispensary  is  so  divided  that  each 
month  one  puts  up  all  the  prescriptions;  one  takes  charge 
of  the  operating  room  and  instruments,  and  does  some  of 
the  daily  surgical  dressings;  one  has  charge  of  the  dining- 
room,  conducting  evening  prayers  there;  one  conducts  re- 
ligious exercises  at  the  dispensary,  and  on  the  Sabbath  reads 
and  converses  with  the  sick  who  can't  or  do  not  care  to  go 
to  church  service;  one  has  general  oversight  of  the  rooms, 
the  visitors,  etc.,  and  one  has  odd  jobs  given  him.  We  pro- 
vide tuition,  rooms  lighted  and  heated,  and  books. 

Mrs.  Cochran  entered  actively  into  this  work,  and 
shared  in  the  training  of  the  young  men.  In  a  home 
letter  in  1884,  she  says : — 

I  have  had  the  two  young  doctors  to  tea  two  Wednesday 
evenings.  They  do  pretty  well.  We  mean  to  train  them  in 
English,  in  table  manners,  and  other  points  of  politeness, 
and  talk  about  some  interesting  things  that  are  new  to 
them.  Immediately  after  tea  they  all  retire  to  the  study, 
and  Joe  gives  a  talk  on  some  medical  subject,  tells  them  the 
new  remedies  and  new  ideas  in  the  last  medical  journals, 
etc.  Israel  is  going  over  to  Salmas  this  winter.  The  people 
will  not  allow  a  preacher  to  occupy  the  house  we  rented 
there  for  a  helper,  but  Dr.  Shedd  thinks  that  a  doctor  might 
open  the  way. 

These  evening  talks  of  Dr.  Cochran  to  his  pupils  were 
not  careless  or  perfunctory.  He  made  careful  prepara- 
tion, as  his  notes  prove,  giving  the  students  accounts 
of  all  important  advances  and  discoveries,  not  only  in 
medicine  and  surgery,  but  in  general  knowledge. 

The  annual  reports  of  his  work,  which  he  sent  to  the 
Board  and  to  the  Westminster  Church  in  Buffalo, 


332  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

would  make  by  themselves  a  fascinating  book.  A  few 
extracts  from  them,  put  together  as  a  continuous  story, 
will  suffice  to  show  their  character  and  to  illustrate 
the  romance  and  variety  and  effectiveness  of  his 
work : — 

We  have  built  additional  rooms  for  assistants,  drugs,  and 
waiting  rooms,  where  outdoor  patients  can  be  treated.  Large 
numbers  come  to  the  office  every  day.  They  flock  in  by  sun- 
rise, some  on  foot,  others  on  horse,  donkeys,  oxen,  or  on  the 
backs  of  their  friends,  or  else  borne  on  litters.  They  often 
throw  these  sick  at  our  feet,  saying,  "  We  shall  not  take  them 
away  until  you  cure  them  or  let  them  die  here.  Our  only 
hope  is  in  God  above,  and  in  you  as  His  instrument  below." 
Many  are  seen  in  the  dispensary  in  the  city  and  in  the 
villages.  In  the  past  six  months  I  have  prescribed  for  1,603 
patients  outside  the  hospital,  have  made  fifty  calls  in  the 
city,  and  been  to  fifteen  villages.  On  my  way  to  these  places, 
the  sick,  as  if  by  instinct  knowing  that  a  physician  is  to 
pass  their  way,  get  their  friends  to  take  and  lay  them  in 
some  shade  by  the  road,  where  they  can  wait  my  arrival. 
Or  I  am  stopped  by  others,  who  beg  me  to  turn  aside  to  some 
hamlet  and  see  some  one  whom  they  cannot  bring.  Many 
hopeless  cases  are  brought  long  distances.  Last  week  two 
blind  men  were  led  on  foot  by  a  third  old  man  from  a  dis- 
trict six  days  off.  Overtaking  them,  the  leader  drew  them 
up  in  line,  and  as  I  approached  all  bowed  almost  to  the 
ground,  then  catching  my  clothes  and  kissing  my  shoes,  they 
implored  me  to  give  them  sight.  Examination  revealed  eyes 
utterly  ruined,  and  they  went  away  overcome  with  grief, 
scarcely  persuaded  but  that  I  could  help  them  if  I  would, 
Baying,  "  We  have  seen  blind  men  whom  you  have  cured " 
(referring  to  cases  upon  whom  the  operation  for  cataract 
had  been  performed). 

One  of  our  patients  in  the  hospital  was  an  old  man  who 
had  for  many  years  been  in  our  employ  as  preacher.  His 
home  and  his  field  are  in  the  mountains  about  a  day's 
journey  away.  His  wife  studied  under  Miss  Fiske,  and  he 
under  my  father.  Freshets  last  spring  carried  away  his 
little  fields,  which  he  had  made  with  great  labour  beside 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  333 

the  river  in  the  crowded,  stony  valley,  where  a  field  the  size 
of  a  large  room  is  considered  a  valuable  piece  of  property. 
Losing  his  all  at  home,  and  being  out  of  employment,  he  took 
his  family  and  came  down  here  in  the  hope  of  bettering  his 
condition.  On  crossing  the  Turko-Persian  frontier,  they 
were  attacked  by  Kurds  who  stripped  the  caravan  and  badly 
wounded  this  good  man,  stabbing  him  in  the  back  in  three 
places,  two  of  the  wounds  penetrating  the  lungs.  He  was 
also  shot  in  the  foot.  This  man  is  now  convalescent,  all  of 
his  wounds  being  healed  except  a  surface  sore  on  the  foot. 
As  he  has  lain  on  his  bed  with  his  Bible  in  his  hand,  suffer- 
ing with  pain  and  fever,  at  first  suffering  for  breath,  with 
his  back  and  breast  enormously  puffed  up  with  the  escaping 
air  from  his  lungs,  all  patients  and  attendants  have  mar- 
velled at  his  patience,  never  complaining,  but  rather  com- 
forting the  other  sick  in  his  room,  and  reading  to  them. 
His  wife  often  called  on  him.  She  would  stand  by  his  bed- 
side with  a  roll  of  wool  wound  round  her  left  arm,  a  spindle 
or  distaff  in  the  other,  twisting  and  winding  the  wool  into 
yarn  for  stockings,  which  she  sold  to  help  support  her  large 
family. 

To  get  to  one  of  our  villages  about  us  you  must  go  on 
horseback,  for  carriage  roads  are  few.  Being  called  to  a 
village  some  fifteen  miles  away,  I  mounted  my  horse,  accom- 
panied by  a  servant  to  care  for  the  horses,  for  you  cannot 
blanket  your  horse  in  front  of  a  house  and  have  any  positive 
assurance  that  when  you  come  out  you  will  find  him.  Should 
he  be  there,  the  blanket  or  saddle  straps  would  almost  surely 
be  gone,  and  in  the  villages  along  the  lake,  where  flamingoes, 
ducks,  pelicans,  and  many  other  birds  abound,  you  would 
at  least  lose  your  horse's  tail,  a  sacrifice  to  the  snare  of  the 
fowler.  Arriving  at  the  village,  we  dismounted  in  front  of 
our  preacher's  house.  The  village  school,  under  our  Mission 
care,  which  is  taught  on  the  premises,  was  just  out  for  noon 
recess.  These  children,  with  the  men  and  boys  who  were 
sunning  themselves  on  the  low,  flat  roofs  of  the  closely-built 
village,  made  a  good  body  of  spectators.  To  get  to  the  sick 
man's  house  we  have  no  clean  sidewalks,  but  had  to  wade 
through  the  mud  and  snow  in  the  middle  of  the  narrow  street. 
All  the  men,  women,  and  children  who  had  seen  the  doctor 
come,  fell  in  line,  and  the  procession  marched  upon  the  house 


334  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

of  our  patient.  Stooping  to  enter  the  low  outside  door,  and 
walking  in  this  posture,  led  by  the  brother  of  the  sick  man, 
and  directed  now  to  turn  to  the  right,  now  to  the  left,  to 
avoid  a  plough  or  low  ceiling,  I  made  my  way  through  a 
long,  dark  passage, — which  was  at  the  same  time  the  entrance 
to  the  stables,  barns,  and  house, — and  reached  the  only  room 
in  the  house.  Here  it  was  lighter,  and  there  were  several 
openings  in  the  ceiling  to  admit  light  and  carry  off  the 
smoke  when  the  fire  was  made  in  the  well-like  oven.  The 
father  and  mother  and  brothers  and  younger  sisters  and 
brothers'  wives,  and  their  children,  with  many  neighbours, 
sat  about  the  sick  man,  who  lay  on  the  floor,  tossing  in 
delirium.  In  about  two  minutes  the  large  room  was  packed 
with  people,  curious  to  see  what  the  doctor  would  do,  and 
especially  what  prognosis  he  would  make,  as  well  as  to  show 
their  own  sick,  or  call  him  to  other  houses.  Our  preacher, 
as  well  as  the  priest  of  the  Old  Church,  begged  the  people 
to  go  out,  but  it  made  but  little  difference.  After  examining 
the  sick  man  and  leaving  medicine  for  him,  many  others  told 
their  ailments  and  asked  for  treatment.  Then  I  went  to 
other  houses  to  see  those  who  were  bedridden.  After  seeing 
to  these,  and  looking  at  those  who  begged  me  "just  to 
look  at  them,"  who  stood  at  the  doors,  or  in  the  yards,  or 
on  the  street  as  I  went  from  place  to  place,  the  pastor  told 
the  people  I  would  not  see  any  more  until  I  had  had  my 
dinner,  but  that  on  mounting  I  would  see  the  remaining 
sick.  The  pastor's  wife,  a  graduate  of  Fiske  Seminary,  had 
a  good  dinner  waiting  for  me,  and  a  number  of  special 
friends  to  be  treated.  On  going  out  to  mount  my  horse, 
many  new  sick  had  come  or  were  brought.  An  old  paralyzed 
woman  was  brought  on  the  back  of  her  daughter.  Several 
blind  women  were  led  out  to  hear  me  tell  if  there  were  any 
remedy  for  them.  In  an  adjoining  village,  through  which 
my  road  passed,  I  was  forced  to  dismount  and  see  several 
sick,  and  many  more  came  out  or  were  brought  out  on  the 
street.  In  such  a  flying  visit  little  could  be  done  more  than 
to  tell  them  to  come  to  the  dispensary  or  hospital,  or  suggest 
some  domestic  remedy,  but  it  does  these  people  much  good 
just  to  see  them. 

In  July  I  was  called  to  see  the  wife  and  son  of  a  chief 
two  days  to  the  south  of  us.    He  owns  the  village  in  which 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  335 

he  lives,  as  well  as  a  number  of  others,  is  the  commanding 
general  of  a  regiment  of  cavalry,  and  is  practically  the 
governor  of  the  whole  plain  of  Sulduz.  He  and  his  tribe 
hare  been  placed  here  by  the  Shah  to  act  as  buffers  against 
the  Kurds,  and  are  in  consequence  not  taxed.  I  could  stay 
only  two  days  and  a  half  at  his  comfortable  home,  but  during 
this  time,  aside  from  seeing  his  wife  and  son  often,  I  treated 
many  others  of  the  higher  class  in  the  district  who  are 
related  to  him.  After  the  simple  breakfast  we  had  a  good 
time  to  visit,  once  alone  with  him,  but  the  other  two  morn- 
ings with  other  Khans  as  well.  The  usual  breakfast  is  tea 
with  bread,  cream,  honey,  and  cheese  or  curds.  Sitting  on 
the  cool  side  of  the  house,  and  sipping  the  tea,  the  conver- 
sation at  this  hour  was  always  religious.  He  had  read  the 
Testament,  and  asked  many  questions  about  it,  and  accepted 
it  as  the  best  book  he  had  ever  read.  Evenings  on  the  roof, 
with  the  full  moon  shining  upon  us,  and  the  cool  breeze 
blowing  away  the  heat  of  the  day,  he  seemed  most  eager  for 
me  to  talk  to  him  on  all  scientific  subjects,  and  espeeially 
of  the  strange  things  in  the  Western  world.  About  nine, 
our  supper  of  two  or  three  kinds  of  meat,  rice,  and  side 
dishes  of  pickles,  cheese,  and  fruit,  with  sherbet,  was  served 
on  copper  trays,  a  separate  one  always  being  given  to  the 
Christian.  Then  we  would  retire,  I  to  the  yard  to  a  large, 
high  bedstead  covered  with  mosquito  netting.  One  day  he 
got  up  a  fishing  excursion,  or  exhibition,  for  my  benefit. 
He  ordered  about  a  hundred  buffaloes  to  be  brought  from 
his  villages  to  a  point  on  the  river  where  the  water  was  deep 
and  where  a  tent  had  been  pitched  for  us.  There  were  not 
less  than  two  hundred  men  and  boys  with  these  animals,  aside 
from  the  Khans  and  their  following.  Some  twenty  men  in 
bathing  costume  stood  in  the  river  where  the  water  was  not 
more  than  knee-deep,  with  long  poles  with  a  sharp  hook  on  the 
end.  Then  the  buffaloes  were  driven  into  the  stream,  and 
forced  to  wade  or  swim  up  to  the  shallow  place  to  the  music  of 
yelling  men  and  drum  and  fife.  At  times  when  the  width 
of  the  stream  was  not  great,  and  the  buffaloes  occupied  it 
all,  the  great  fish,  sturgeons,  called  here  whales,  would  leap 
up  between  the  animals,  and  fall  on  their  backs.  The  cur- 
rent was  quite  rapid,  and  their  drivers  swimming  or  riding 
on  the  backs  of  the  buffaloes,  kept  them  from  turning  back. 


336  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

One  was  drowned,  and  fearing  that  others  might  succumb, 
I  asked  the  general  to  order  them  out,  as  I  had  seen  how  it 
was  done.  "  Oh,  don't  mind,"  he  said,  "  I  will  pay  for  the 
buffalo,"  and  so  he  did.  As  the  fish  were  driven  into  the 
shallow  water,  the  men  who  were  watching  for  them  struck 
and  hauled  them  out  with  their  hooks.  After  our  dinner, 
which  was  brought  us  on  an  ox  cart  from  a  neighbouring 
village,  we  rode  home,  leaving  about  thirty  fish,  from  a  half 
to  a  yard  and  a  half  long,  on  the  banks  for  the  Kurds  to 
come  and  take,  both  to  eat  them  and  extract  their  oil  for 
lights.  The  Persian  does  not  eat  them. 

A  mountain  Nestorian,  while  hunting  wild  boar,  was 
accidently  shot  by  his  friend  and  companion,  the  rifle  ball 
shattering  his  leg.  His  companion  did  not  dare  take  him 
home,  for  he  knew  too  well  that  swift  retribution  would  be 
meted  out  to  him  by  the  wounded  man's  friends.  So  leaving 
his  home  and  family,  he  puts  off  to  another  district,  where 
his  wife  and  children,  driven  away  from  their  own  village, 
in  time  joined  him.  They  cannot  return,  at  least  for  three 
years.  What  property  they  have  not  been  able  to  take  with 
them  is  confiscated — they  must  be  exiles  hereafter  from  their 
home.  The  code  of  honour  amongst  these  wild  Nestorians 
or  Kurds  demands  blood  for  blood,  without  any  form  of 
trial,  even  if  the  injured  party  declares  that  he  holds  no 
grudge,  and  admits  that  the  affair  was  accidental.  The 
sequel  to  this  story  will  illustrate  another  characteristic 
in  human  life  as  seen  here.  The  man's  leg  was  so  injured 
that  his  mother-in-law  was  told  that  he  must  die,  unless  he 
would  undergo  quite  a  serious  operation,  and  even  then  he 
must  be  a  cripple  for  life.  She  took  him  away,  saying  that  she 
would  prefer  a  dead  son-in-law  to  a  cripple  who  would  only 
be  a  burden  to  her  daughter. 

Another  patient  was  a  woman  whose  ankle  and  foot  were 
diseased.  She  was  very  much  reduced,  a  mere  skeleton, 
thoroughly  saturated  with  the  poison  of  her  sores.  She  had 
just  let  her  infant  child  smother  to  death.  A  short  time 
before  she  had  tried  to  kill  her  husband  by  putting  arsenic 
in  his  food.  He,  in  turn,  had  cruelly  neglected  her  in  her 
sickness.  We  could  do  but  little  more  than  make  her  com- 
fortable. Mrs.  D.  P.  Cochran  and  some  of  her  fellow- 
patients  did  much  to  set  her  thinking  of  her  evil  ways,  and 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  337 

afterwards  to  cheer  her  in  the  hopes  of  a  sin-forgiving 
Saviour.  She  was  taken  to  her  village  to  die.  We  heard 
afterwards  that  her  husband  had  put  her  off  in  a  barn,  and 
hastened  her  death  by  not  giving  her  enough  to  eat,  and 
forbidding  the  neighbours  to  take  her  food. 

But  Christianity  can  change  the  lives  and  hearts  of  people 
as  dark  and  wicked  as  these.  Another  patient,  the  young 
wife  of  one  of  our  preachers,  was  brought  tenderly  to  the 
hospital  by  her  husband.  He  came  frequently  to  visit  her, 
always  bringing  her  something  tempting  to  eat  or  something 
to  add  to  her  comfort.  After  her  long  stay  in  the  hospital 
he  took  her  for  a  change  of  air  to  a  distant  village,  untiringly 
caring  for  her  till  she  died,  and  has  deeply  mourned  her 
ever  since. 

A  Kurdish  chief  came  to  us  in  his  gay  costume,  consisting 
of  a  bright  blue  pair  of  trousers,  very  full,  a  broad  belt  of 
Persian  shawl  goods,  a  coat  of  striped  silk  of  many  colours, 
and  a  green  cloth  skull-cap  with  many  silk  and  cloth  hand- 
kerchiefs for  a  large  turban.  Over  his  shawl  belt  was  a 
cartridge  belt  and  another  slung  over  his  shoulders.  He 
was  escorted  by  several  servants.  He  brought  a  horseload 
of  skins  of  cheese,  melted  butter,  and  honey.  He  was  with 
us  a  month  when  word  came  that  his  people  had  gone  to 
war  with  another  tribe,  so  he  hurriedly  left.  Not  long 
afterward  he  sent  a  mule  colt  in  payment  of  his  bill.  When 
here  he  often  expressed  his  wonder  at  the  motive  that  led 
people  to  come  so  far  and  others  to  send  the  means  to  do 
what  is  done  here  for  the  people  of  all  nationalities.  He 
repeatedly  would  say,  "  Great  will  be  your  reward  in 
Heaven." 

In  the  spring  a  Kurdish  lady,  with  five  maid-servants 
and  twice  as  many  men-servants,  came  to  the  hospital. 
She  is  the  wife  of  Sheikh  Mohammed  Sadik,  the  daughter- 
in-law  of  the  noted  Sheikh  Obeidullah,  who  in  1880  invaded 
this  part  of  Persia.  She  was  gaily  and  handsomely  attired 
and  very  ladylike  and  pleasing  in  appearance.  Her  husband 
is  the  most  influential  Kurd  for  a  long  way  about  us.  He 
resides  in  the  mountains  about  three  days'  journey  to  the 
west  of  us.  To  have  his  favour  is  to  open  two  Nestorian 
districts  to  the  safe  and  free  access  of  our  teachers  and 
preachers. 


338  JOSEPH  PLUMB  GOCHRAN 

Another  patient  of  the  upper  classes  is  now  in  the  hos- 
pital, a  Khan  of  19,  whose  father,  the  Mirpanj,  is  the 
chief  military  and  civil  head  of  the  district  of  Sulduz.  He 
came  to  us  under  an  escort  of  twenty  armed  men,  bringing 
a  letter  from  his  mother  to  Mrs.  Cochran,  and  from  his 
father  to  me,  commending  him  to  our  care.  He  keeps  two 
men  to  wait  on  him.  His  father  and  mother  are  intelligent 
people  who  are  instructed  in  our  Scripture,  and  who  help 
us  in  our  work  on  the  Sulduz  plain.  A  few  days  after  his 
arrival  six  camels  came  into  our  yard  loaded  with  wheat 
and  rice  sent  by  his  father  for  the  hospital.  We  have  a 
Moslem  servant  cook  for  this  Khan  alone. 

Seeing  the  Khans  and  their  families  in  times  of  sickness 
brings  us  into  a  pleasant  relation  with  them,  and  many  is 
the  opportunity  offered  and  availed  of  to  have  pleasant  and 
profitable  religious  conversations.  This  friendship  is  help- 
ful in  many  ways  in  our  general  work.  The  villages  in 
which  are  our  schools  and  congregations  are  all  owned  by 
these  Khans,  and  so  we  are  brought  into  close  relation  with 
them.  If  we  are  not  on  good  terms  they  can  annoy  us 
very  much  in  our  work. 

Among  my  Mohammedan  patients  is  a  lady  who  by  birth 
and  marriage  is  connected  with  the  first  families  of  the  city. 
Her  husband  is  one  of  the  chief  sayids — a  lineal  descendant 
of  the  Prophet,  while  her  brother  is  a  noted  mujtahid,  a 
preacher  of  considerable  reputation,  and  one  of  the  famous 
lawyers  of  this  part  of  the  country.  Several  years  ago  this 
gentleman  sent  for  me  to  see  a  nephew  who  was  in  the  last 
stages  of  Bright's  disease.  The  large  room,  richly  carpeted 
with  Persian  rugs,  but  bare  of  all  other  furnishings,  as  is 
often  the  case  in  the  reception  room  in  the  better  houses 
among  the  Moslem  noblemen,  was  filled  with  the  male  rela- 
tives of  the  dying  man.  There  were  several  other  mujtahids 
present,  and  many  sayids.  The  water  pipe  and  tea  were 
being  passed.  I  was  received  very  cordially,  rather  notice- 
ably so.  All  rose  from  their  seats  on  the  floor,  and  showed 
me  to  the  seat  of  honour  at  the  upper  end  of  the  room. 
After  sitting  down  on  my  knees,  and  making  a  bow  to  all 
in  the  room,  beginning  with  the  chief  men,  and  ending 
with  those  nearest  the  door,  I  took  my  glass  of  tea,  and 
listened  to  the  description  of  the  patient's  symptoms.  There 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  339 

were  no  women  present,  because  there  were  so  many  men, 
some  of  whom  were  not  intimately  acquainted  with  the 
family.  The  uncle  of  the  sick  lad  then  turned  to  me  and 
apologized  for  waiting  until  the  disease  had  progressed  so  far, 
and  explained  why  he  had  sent  for  me  just  then.  "  This 
young  man  has  been  treated  by  our  native  doctors  for  a 
long  time,  and  while  we  have  often  spoken  of  sending  for 
you,  or  for  one  of  the  doctors  whom  you  have  taught,  to 
come  and  take  charge  of  the  case,  we  have  never  accom- 
plished it.  Last  night,  however,  I  had  a  vision.  It  was  a 
very  vivid  one  and  very  remarkable.  It  is  in  pursuance  of 
the  commands  of  that  vision  that  I  sent  for  you  to-day. 
I  was  asleep ;  it  was  just  after  the  moon  rose,  about  midnight, 
that  an  angel  appeared  unto  me,  and  asked  me  why  I  was  so 
heavy  hearted  and  so  distressed  about  my  nephew.  He  asked 
me  why  I  had  not  called  you  in  to  see  him,  and  said  that  we 
did  not  appreciate  sufficiently  the  blessings  that  we  had  in 
having  you  in  this  country,  and  that  we  were  not  making 
the  use  we  should  of  this  gift  which  God  had  provided  for 
us.  He  said,  furthermore,  that  I  should  not  only  send  for 
you  to  come  and  see  this  young  man,  and  tell  us  whether 
medicine  would  be  of  any  benefit  to  him,  but  that  I  should 
proclaim  his  message  regarding  you  to  all  my  friends,  and 
publicly,  in  the  mosque."  This  mullah  was  very  sincere  and 
earnest  in  his  account  of  his  dream,  often  turning  to  his 
other  guests  and  repeating  some  part  of  it  to  them,  and  em- 
phasizing it.  He  continued :  "  It  was  for  this  reason  that  I 
sent  for  you,  and  now  please  examine  our  boy,  and  see  if  it  is 
too  late  to  do  anything  for  him."  After  having  made  a  care- 
ful examination,  I  informed  him  that  unless  God  were 
pleased  to  make  an  exception  of  this  case  and  to  work  in 
a  manner  contrary  to  the  usual  course  of  the  disease,  this 
boy  must  die  very  soon.  He  was  already  unconscious.  Not 
long  after,  I  heard  that  this  gentleman  had  related  his  dream 
in  the  mosque  to  a  large  audience,  and  when  I  next  saw 
him  he  told  me  that  he  had  repeated  it  to  every  one  he  met. 
He  has  sent  many  patients  to  me  since  that  time,  and  was 
one  of  the  first  to  welcome  me  on  my  return  here  last  fall. 
I  am  now,  at  his  request,  treating  his  sister,  as  I  said  at  the 
outset,  together  with  some  of  her  children. 
I  have  had  an  unusual  number  of  patients  among  these 


340      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

ecclesiastics  the  past  few  months,  and  it  has  been  a  pleasure 
to  get  into  such  close  relations  with  so  many  of  these  pious 
and  fanatical  people,  and  see  their  prejudices  gradually 
modify. 

Returning  from  Tabriz  last  fall,  along  the  southern  shore 
of  Lake  TJrumia,  I  came  to  a  Kurdish  village.  I  was 
acquainted  with  the  chief  of  the  village,  and  knew  that  it 
would  be  impossible  for  me  to  make  myself  known  to  him 
without  being  delayed,  and  it  was  now  the  middle  of  the 
afternoon,  and  I  had  promised  to  spend  that  night  some 
fifteen  miles  further  on  with  a  Khan  (nobleman)  who  was 
ill.  I  skirted  the  village,  and  dismounted  in  an  apricot 
orchard  at  the  edge  of  the  town,  for  our  horses  needed  a 
rest  and  to  be  fed,  and  we  had  not  lunched.  I  had  told  the 
men  who  were  with  me  that  I  did  not  wish  them  to  inform 
any  one  about  the  village  who  I  was.  There  were  two  or 
three  men  in  the  orchard  trimming  the  trees,  and  others  iiear- 
by  were  taking  in  their  clover.  As  I  sat  under  one  of  these 
trees  and  began  to  eat  my  lunch,  one  elderly  Kurd  came  up 
towards  me,  and  took  a  seat  at  a  little  distance  from  me 
and  somewhat  behind  me.  He  was  inclined  to  be  very 
sociable  and  full  of  inquiries,  while  I  was  reserved.  He 
finally  asked  me  if  my  head  comprehended  any  medicine ;  and 
I  replied  that  it  depended  upon  the  gravity  of  the  case 
that  he  wished  to  report  to  me.  He  told  me  the  symptoms 
of  his  son's  illness,  and  said,  "  Oh,  if  I  could  only  get  him 
to  that  American  doctor  that  lives  in  TJrumia,  and  have 
him  kept  in  the  hospital  a  little  while,  I  know  he  would 
get  well,  for  I  was  treated  there  myself  for  pneumonia  about 
twenty  years  ago,  and  aside  from  being  cured  of  my  disease 
they  did  so  much  for  me,  and  were  so  kind  to  me  that  I 
should  have  been  willing  to  have  been  sick  there  all  my 
life.  Especially  was  the  doctor's  mother  kind  to  me.  She 
used  to  come  to  my  bed  two  or  three  times  a  day  (they  had 
fixed  me  up  on  a  bedstead  like  a  European  King)  and  put 
her  hand  upon  my  forehead  and  say,  '  Khidir,  how  are  you 
to-day  ? '  and  I  would  reply,  '  May  I  be  your  sacrifice,  my 
great  lady,  I  am  in  heaven.'"  And  so  he  entertained  me 
for  some  time,  with  stories  true  and  untrue,  about  the 
wonders  that  he  had  seen  performed  in  the  hospital.  As 
he  spoke  he  gradually  approached  me,  and  I  noticed  that 


o 
L> 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  341 

he  was  scanning  me  closely;  finally,  he  caught  hold  of 
my  shoe,  and  pressing  my  foot,  he  said,  "  I  swear,  I  half 
believe  that  you  are  that  doctor  yourself."  I  put  him 
off,  and  he  went  on  to  tell  of  the  things  he  said  he 
had  experienced  there.  All  the  time  he  was  working 
himself  more  in  front  of  me,  when  suddenly,  with  a  cry,  he 
exclaimed,  "  I  swear  you  are  that  doctor !  I  adjure  you  by 
the  living  God,  tell  me,  are  you  not  ? "  He  was  now  cling- 
ing to  me  and  wringing  the  skirts  of  my  coat.  When  I  had 
to  admit  that  I  was  the  man  he  described,  he  made  me 
promise  to  wait  until  he  could  bring  to  me  his  son.  Soon 
he  returned,  with  his  son  on  the  back  of  another  young  man, 
with  his  wife  and  his  son's  wife,  and  several  little  children, 
and  four  or  five  neighbours.  They  came  laden  with  clover 
for  my  horses;  they  brought  bread  and  butter  and  milk  and 
curds.  Although  I  had  eaten  my  lunch,  they  insisted  that 
I  eat  their  bread, .so  I  partook  of  this  gift,  and  then  they 
took  the  remainder  and  made  my  men  finish  it,  while  the 
horses  were  made  to  eat  their  clover  instead  of  that  which 
we  had  already  bought.  I  prescribed  for  their  sick,  and  then 
mounted  and  rode  off,  with  five  or  six  of  these  men  as  my 
escort  on  foot.  They  wished  to  come  with  me  all  the  way 
to  the  end  of  my  stage,  as  they  feared  I  might  be  robbed, 
it  was  getting  so  late,  but  I  declined  their  offer  and  hurried 
on. 

About  a  month  ago  this  man  came  here,  bringing  the 
same  son,  who  now  is  very  ill  with  an  abscess  of  the  liver, 
which  is  discharging  through  the  lungs.  We  have  been  try- 
ing for  some  time  to  close  the  hospital  for  the  summer, 
but  it  is  no  easy  task,  for  the  sick  will  not  get  well  at  one 
time,  and  while  there  are  a  few  patients  in  the  hospital  it 
is  very  hard  to  convince  others  that  they  cannot  be  received 
as  well.  To  meet  the  retrenchment,  one-fifth  of  our  esti- 
mate has  to  be  given  up,  and  we  must  close  the  hospital 
for  several  months  to  meet  this.  This  Kurd  and  his  son 
have  rented  a  place  in  the  city,  and  they  come  and  see  me 
from  time  to  time,  but  five  other  Kurds  from  the  region  of 
Mosul,  after  having  travelled  twenty-five  days  over  a  perilous 
and  difficult  journey,  cannot  be  refused  admittance,  even 
though  our  funds  are  so  short.  Just  now  six  other  men, 
Arabs  from  the  south  of  Mosul,  have  come.  One  of  them 


342      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

is  a  man  of  considerable  note,  a  Sheikh;  all  six  are  in 
need  of  hospital  care,  and  while  they  are  well  off  and  able 
to  pay  all  their  expenses,  we  must  labour  under  the  same 
embarrassment  mentioned  above  of  keeping  patients  and 
at  the  same  time  refusing  others. 

A  number  of  insane  persons  have  been  brought  to  the 
hospital  this  year  as  usual,  but  we  never  receive  them  if  we 
can  help  it,  for  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  give  them  the 
care  and  treatment  necessary.  One  man,  however,  from  a 
wealthy  family,  was  received  because  his  friends  made  it 
possible  for  us  to  give  him  a  separate  room  and  special 
attendants.  There  are  no  asylums  for  these  unfortunates 
here  in  Persia.  It  is  one  of  the  most  distressing  sights 
which  we  have  to  behold,  to  see  the  way  this  wretched  class 
goes  about,  without  any  care,  always  mocked  and  teased  by 
the  children  and  grown  people  as  well.  Where  they  are 
violent,  they  are  chained  up  to  some  pillar  or  post  about 
the  house  or  stable,  there  to  worry  themselves  to  death. 
There  is  a  popular  notion,  shared  alike  by  the  Christians  and 
Mohammedans,  that  some  of  the  departed  Christian  saints 
have  the  power  to  cure  those  thus  afflicted.  There  is  an  old 
Syrian  church  on  the  mountain-side  a  few  miles  from  here, 
in  which  there  is  a  hole  or  dungeon  for  the  reception  of  the 
insane  and  epileptic.  The  friends  take  the  patient  to  this 
church,  where  he  is  incarcerated  in  this  damp  and  dark  hole 
over  night,  while  an  offering  of  a  sheep  or  lamb  is  made  to 
the  patron  saint  of  the  church.  Probably  all  the  insane  of 
this  district  have  at  some  time  or  other  been  taken  to  this 
church. 

There  is  a  Mohammedan  woman  who  has  lost  her  nose 
and  ears.  How  this  came  about  makes  a  gruesome  tale, 
but  it  is  one  of  the  many  illustrations  of  the  terrible  life 
led  by  most  under  the  Mohammedan  religion.  Twenty  years 
ago,  when  a  terrible  famine  was  raging,  this  woman,  as  a 
babe  in  her  mother's  arms,  was  brought  to  our  doors  by  her 
parents.  The  father  was  swollen  and  nearly  dead,  while  the 
mother  and  children  were  in  nearly  as  great  distress,  owing 
to  starvation.  They  were  fed,  carefully,  daily,  until  the 
worst  was  over,  along  with  many  other  hundreds  who  were 
supported  by  funds  sent  from  America  and  England  for 
the  purpose.  When  she  grew  up,  she  married  a  man  who, 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  343 

like  a  good  many  others  in  his  village,  steals  and  robs  when 
the  opportunity  offers.  Summer  before  last,  he  with  three 
companions,  broke  into  the  house  of  an  old  hospital  servant. 
This  woman  was  alone,  so  she  did  not  dare  move  or  give 
the  alarm.  The  men  struck  a  light,  and  carried  off  whatever 
she  had  of  any  value  to  them.  This  man,  a  few  nights  ago, 
returned  to  his  home,  where  he  has  two  wives  and  two 
children.  He  was  displeased  with  something  they  had  done, 
got  opium  from  one  of  the  opium  shops  nearby,  and  gave  it  to 
them  in  honey.  As  soon  as  they  were  under  the  influence 
of  the  drug,  he  tied  their  hands  behind  them  and  cut  off 
their  ears  and  noses.  As  he  slashed  off  the  end  of  the  nose 
of  our  patient,  he  threw  it  to  one  side.  When  the  women 
recovered  sufficiently  from  the  effect  of  the  opium  and  the 
shock  to  realize  their  condition,  one  of  them  adjusted  the  cut 
nose  that  was  not  wholly  severed,  and  ran  off  to  her  father's 
house;  while  our  patient  looked  about  for  her  lost  nose,  and 
found  it  adhering  to  the  mud  wall.  She  slapped  it  on  her 
face,  and  made  her  way  to  the  hospital  as  soon  as  possible, 
hoping  it  could  be  repaired,  but  twenty-four  hours  had  elapsed 
since  it  was  cut  off,  and  there  was  no  hope  for  it.  She  does 
not  regret  the  loss  of  her  ears  so  much,  for  the  head  dress 
always  covers  them.  The  other  wife  was  stabbed  as  well, 
and  died  on  the  succeeding  day.  The  husband  is  still  at 
large. 

One  of  our  patients,  a  Kurdish  chief,  who  lives  in  the 
mountains  two  days'  journey  from  here,  and  who  with  a 
number  of  other  greater  chiefs  has  just  arranged  terms  of 
peace  with  the  government,  the  latter  holding  as  hostages, 
or  security  for  peace,  several  young  men  or  boys,  the  sons 
of  these  chiefs,  has  just  left  us.  He  is  a  bright  and  intelli- 
gent young  man  for  one  who  has  had  as  little  chance  to 
acquire  any  general  knowledge.  He  was  much  impressed 
with  what  he  saw  in  the  hospital  and  college,  of  what  we 
are  doing  for  the  people  of  this  country.  After  being  here 
a  few  days,  he  often  would  say,  "  This  is  Christ's  home,  and 
I  have  put  myself  into  your  care  to  cure  me  by  His  power. 
I  know  you  ask  for  His  blessing  on  all  that  is  done  here,  and 
I  wish  you  to  do  your  best  for  me,  and  to  pray  to  Christ,  the 
Spirit  of  God,  to  bless  the  means."  He  was  especially  in- 
terested in  the  services  held  in  Turkish.  After  having  got- 


344  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

ten  acquainted  with  him,  he  one  day  told  me  that  one  of 
the  nurses  had  told  him  of  a  robbery  that  had  been  perpe- 
trated upon  some  of  our  people,  and  he  said  he  wished  to 
tell  me  something  he  knew  about  it.  One  of  our  mission- 
aries last  summer  was  making  a  tour  across  the  border,  in 
Turkey.  One  night  the  party  camped  out  at  a  village,  where 
they  were  attacked  by  robbers.  They  had  three  horses, 
which  were  picketed  in  front  of  their  tent,  taken.  Two  of 
them  belonged  to  the  government  escort  of  gendarmes,  and 
the  third  was  owned  by  one  of  our  graduates  in  medicine 
who  was  of  the  party.  The  Kurds  made  a  dash,  quickly  cut 
loose  these  horses,  and  galloped  away  into  the  dark  with  them. 
One  of  the  gendarmes  started  to  his  feet  as  soon  as  he 
heard  the  horsemen,  but  was  shot  down  where  he  stood. 
This  patient  told  me  that  he  knew  where  the  horse  was 
that  belongs  to  Dr.  Alexander,  and  that  if  I  would  send 
some  one  to  his  home  as  soon  as  he  returns,  he  would  send 
one  of  his  servants  with  him  to  the  man  who  has  him,  and 
he  would  be  delivered  up.  Whether  or  not  it  was  his  serv- 
ants that  made  the  raid,  or  only  his  neighbours,  we  may 
never  know,  but  we  will  give  him  the  opportunity  of  causing 
the  horse  to  be  returned,  and  will  ask  no  questions. 

One  of  our  patients  was  a  Kurdish  Sheikh,  from  the  region 
of  Mosul,  who  came  here  for  an  operation.  After  one  ex- 
amination and  the  recommendation  of  a  simple  salve,  to 
allay  his  distress,  this  man  developed  typhoid  fever.  He 
himself,  as  well  as  his  attendants,  regarded  this  new  illness 
as  the  direct  result  of  the  application  of  the  salve,  and  the 
man  was  removed  to  a  neighbouring  Kurdish  village,  where 
he  grew  daily  worse,  and  after  a  few  days,  all  hope  of  his 
recovery  being  abandoned,  the  poor  man  was  borne  on  a 
bier,  and  the  caravan  started  for  their  distant  home.  The 
friends  who  had  brought  this  Sheikh  did  not  wish  him  to 
die  in  a  foreign  land,  nor  above  all,  did  they  wish  him  to 
die  in  a  Christian  hospital  (any  more  than  we  did),  and  so 
they  hurried  him  over  the  border,  into  Turkey,  where  he 
died.  During  their  stay  in  the  hospital  and  in  the  village, 
two  of  the  Sheikh's  attendants  took  a  course  of  treatment 
from  us,  which  so  signally  helped  them  that  they  insisted 
that  it  was  impossible  that  we  had  purposely  killed  their 
chief;  and  Sheikh  Sadik  of  Nochea  is  reported  to  have 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  345 

assured  them  most  positively  that  we  would  not  use  anything 
that  would  harm  our  patients,  and  that  he  put  implicit  confi- 
dence in  us,  and  would  at  any  time  trust  any  of  his  family 
in  our  care  and  treatment.  Among  a  large  number  of  people, 
however,  we  have  the  credit  of  being  the  direct  means  of 
the  Sheikh's  death.  Fortunately,  there  is  another  side  to 
this  story,  for  I  am  sure  it  is  the  experience  of  all  physicians 
in  these  lands  that  many  are  most  grateful  for  what  is  done 
for  them,  even  if  the  result  be  unsatisfactory,  and  when  the 
sick  recover,  the  physician  is  regarded  as  the  means  which 
God  has  been  pleased  to  use,  and  the  people  are  not  slow  to 
show  their  gratitude  and  love.  In  a  work  like  ours,  where 
patients  often  come  from  a  distance,  one  cannot  travel  in 
any  direction  without  meeting  those  who  have  been  benefited, 
and  the  effort  made  by  these  persons  to  show  their  apprecia- 
tion and  gratitude  is  often  very  touching.  The  journey 
down  from  Tiflis  here  has  been  no  exception  to  this  rule. 
In  the  few  hours  that  were  spent  in  Tiflis,  several  Arme- 
nians, Moslems,  and  Syrians  did  their  utmost  to  show  their 
gratitude  and  affection.  On  the  Erivan  plain,  an  Armenian 
who  had  been  with  us  was  most  persistent  that  I  stop  and 
be  his  guest.  At  Julfa,  the  Governor  of  that  district,  who 
is  passport  officer  as  well,  returned  the  money  which  I  had 
sent  him  as  the  usual  fee  for  the  visee,  and  called  soon  after 
to  explain  that  money  taken  by  the  Persian  government  from 
those  who  did  so  much  for  the  country  would  be  harm.  The 
custom  house  chief  rebuked  his  men  for  even  allowing  my 
trunk  and  handbags  to  be  stopped  at  the  custom  house 
office,  remarking  that  surely  a  doctor  should  be  allowed  to 
bring  whatever  he  desired  into  a  country  for  which  he  had 
done  so  much.  The  telegraph  operator  at  the  same  place,  a 
Urumia  man,  called  to  say  that  the  wires  were  at  my  com- 
mand without  charge,  if  I  desired  to  telegraph  in  any  direc- 
tion. At  Alma  Sarai,  there  was  a  cavalry  escort,  under 
orders  from  the  Governor  of  Khoi,  to  accompany  me  to  the 
Urumia  borders,  and  at  Saatlu  a  man  whose  son  had  been 
healed  here  this  spring  seemed  really  disappointed  that  I 
would  not  go  and  take  breakfast  in  his  house,  and  hastened 
to  bring  a  large  quantity  of  beautiful  grapes;  and  so  this 
work  has  its  rewards,  right  along,  from  day  to  day,  as  well 
as  its  difficulties  and  dangers.  But  the  greatest  reward 


346      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

and  satisfaction  comes  from  the  fact  that  this  relation  which 
is  formed  between  the  physician  and  patient,  and  often 
continues  for  years,  gives,  frequently,  the  opportunity 
of  bringing  an  influence  to  bear  upon  him  which  is 
helpfuL 

Dr.  Cochran's  medical  work  was  characterized  by 
the  moral  qualities  of  the  man.  He  was  of  quick  and 
accurate  judgment,  very  quiet  in  tone  and  demeanour, 
but  firm  and  decided;  ready  to  listen  to  others  and 
to  change  his  decision,  if  reason  could  be  shown,  but 
otherwise  gentle  and  inflexible.  There  were  certain 
moral  and  spiritual  characteristics  that  were  essential 
elements  in  his  life.  First  of  all  may  be  mentioned 
his  perfect  truthfulness.  He  never  yielded  to  the  prac- 
tice that  is  generally  regarded  as  perfectly  justifiable 
of  deceiving  his  patients.  Once  a  man  of  distinction 
who  was  his  patient  said  to  him,  "  Doctor,  my  friends 
who  are  near  me  will  not  tell  me  the  truth  regarding 
my  condition,  and  I  cannot  rely  upon  what  they  say. 
What  is  the  truth  ?  Is  my  disease  fatal  ?  "  The  doctor 
told  him  the  truth — that  he  could  not  live  much  longer 
— and  then  he  urged  him  to  prepare  his  soul  for  the 
great  change.  And  so  it  was  with  many  other  patients 
and  their  friends.  Never,  in  order  to  secure  an  end 
that  he  had  in  view,  did  he  misrepresent  the  facts. 
Sometimes  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  correct  state- 
ments that  had  been  made  by  him  to  the  government 
or  others,  and  he  never  failed  to  do  so.  His  anger  was 
slow,  but  it  would  be  kindled  against  those  who  had  led 
him  astray.  So  men  believed  and  trusted  him  when 
they  trusted  no  one  else.  Another  element  of  strength 
and  power  was  his  unselfishness.  He  sought  nothing 
for  himself,  but  he  gained  the  best  things  that  men 
can  give — the  honour,  the  respect,  and  the  love  of  his 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  347 

fellows,  as  well  as  the  peace  of  a  conscience  clear  to- 
wards men  and  God. 

He  took  in  the  most  serious  way  his  responsibility 
for  the  care  of  his  fellow-missionaries,  and  he  made 
conscientious  reports  to  the  Board.  He  was  not  of 
those  who  relieve  themselves  of  their  burdens  easily 
by  sending  cases  home.  He  did  not  hesitate  to  do  this 
when  there  was  nothing  else  to  do,  but  first  of  all 
he  exhausted  every  resource  upon  the  field.  If  an 
operation  was  necessary,  he  performed  it  if  it  was  at 
all  possible,  even  if  it  was  an  operation  new  to  him. 
If  a  change  was  indispensable,  he  would  not  approve 
of  return  to  America  until  nearer  possibilities  were 
exhausted.  In  1885  he  presented  to  the  Mission  a 
careful  paper  on  "  Missionary  111  Health."  He 
lamented  the  prevailing  ill  health  of  the  missionaries 
at  that  time.  Among  the  causes  and  remedies,  he  men- 
tioned : — 

I.  Climate. — That  of  western  Persia  is  in  many  respects 
a  delightful  one,  free  from  the  sudden  changes  of  temperature 
that   are  so  trying  to  the  body.     On  the  other  hand,  the 
altitude  of  our  Stations  and  the  dryness  of  the  atmosphere 
are  both  exceedingly  trying  to  persons  whose  work  is  largely 
mental,  and  to  persons  once  suffering  from  nervous  debility 
a  great  hindrance  to  their  recovery.     Malaria  is  the  only 
other  unfavourable  condition  in  the  climate  which  specially 
needs  mention.     The  ravages  of  this  poison  when  once  re- 
ceived into  the  system  are  familiar  to  all,  and  the  effect  which 
the  disease  exerts  upon  the  nervous  system  tends  only  to 
aggravate  any  existing  trouble  there,  or  puts  the  person  into 
such  a  condition  that  nervous  exhaustion  more  readily  super- 
venes. 

II.  Overwork. — This  is  suggested  as  a  cause  by  some,  but 
when  we  consider  the  amount  of  hard  work,  physical  and 
mental,  done  by  many  even  in  poor  health,  we  are  led  to 
think   differently.     A  man   who   is   interested  in   his  work 
and  at  tbe  same  time  can  be  free  from  adverse  circumstances, 


348  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

chiefly  of  anxiety,  can  do  a  surprising  amount  of  work 
without  any  injury  to  himself,  but  as  soon  as  fret  and  worry 
are  superimposed  the  tables  are  turned.  To  quote  from 
Dr.  Wallace  Taylor  of  Japan,  "  I  would  not  detract  from 
the  labours  of  any  missionary,  nor  disparage  what  he  has 
done,  while  I  say  of  the  many  whom  I  have  known  sent 
home  on  account  of  ill  health,  none  have  broken  down  from 
overwork,  while  many  have  been  the  victims  of  worry  and 
fret."  It  is  not  the  work,  but  the  anxiety,  the  worry,  and 
the  care  that  wears  and  kills. 

III.  The  Character  of  Missionary  Work. — In  this  work  we 
find  some  elements  which  render  it  trying  to  the  body  and 
mind  that  are  not  to  be  found  in  other  forms  of  labour.     As 
Dr.  Taylor  puts  it,  "  It  is  a  labour  of  the  sensibilities,  a 
labour  in  which  the  sympathy,  the  emotions,  the  higher  pas- 
sions are  brought  to  the  front  and  receive  the  brunt  of  the 
wear.    It  is  a  labour  in  which  the  heavier  drafts  are  made 
on  the  sensibilities.    Of  man's  complex  psychical  nature  these 
are  the  most  susceptible  to  friction  and  wear.    Drafts  made 
on  these  are  the  most  exhaustive,  and  tell  the  heaviest  on 
body  and  mind."     Then  the  missionary  has  to  labour  at  a 
disadvantage.     He  is  a  stranger  among  strange  people.     He 
must  familiarize  himself  with  their  language,  their  ways, 
their  customs;  until  this  is  done,  it  is  uphill  work.     The 
conditions,   religious   and  moral,   in  which  the   people   are 
found,  born  and  bred  in  sin,  their  consciences  warped  and 
blunted,  all  these  tell  on  the  missionary.     He  has  to  spend 
not  a  little  time  in  settling  oft  repeated  difficulties  among 
the  native   Christians,   bringing  peace   and  Christian  love 
out  of  discord  and  envy.     Such  work  as  this  forms  a  large 
part  of  missionary  labour  and  taxes  his  mind  and  burdens 
his  heart  to  an  extent  known  only  to  those  who  have  ex- 
perienced it. 

IV.  Worry. — Worry  very  naturally  springs  up  and  plays 
a  most  important  part  in  exhausting  the  mind  when  the 
work  draws  largely  on  the  sensibilities,  when  it  is  done  at  a 
disadvantage,  and  when  the  results  are  but  partially  under 
control.     The  new  missionary  worries  because  he  does  not 
make  more  rapid  progress  in  the  language,  because  he  can- 
not take  hold  of  work  sooner,  and  because  of  the  perplexities 
of  his  duties  and  of  the  difficulty  in  understanding  and  in 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  349 

making  himself  understood.  The  results  of  worry,  of  course, 
hare  different  effects,  though  none  the  less  sure,  on  different 
individuals. 

V.  The  absence  of  opportunities  for  recreation  or  diver- 
sion. This  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  fruitful  causes  of 
breaking  down.  There  is  no  chance  to  get  completely  away 
from  the  work,  the  people,  the  care  and  anxiety,  even  for  a 
few  days,  unless  one  goes  entirely  out  of  our  field.  Wherever 
the  missionary  goes,  he  is  surrounded  by  his  work ;  if  possible, 
he  is  the  more  harassed  by  its  difficulties  when  endeavouring 
to  seek  a  rest  in  new  places  than  at  home.  There  being 
even  no  Europeans  outside  of  the  small  missionary  circle, 
whenever  we  meet  our  minds  and  our  tongues  very  natu- 
rally run  on  the  same  things  which  hare  engaged  our  atten- 
tion all  day,  and  so  it  is  that  this  constant,  perpetual  think- 
ing and  planning  and  talking  over  the  same  work  from  one 
year's  end  to  the  other  becomes  at  last  really  a  dangerous 
element,  and  no  wonder  one's  dreams  even  keep  up  the 
same  thoughts. 

Remedies  and  Preventives. — Nervous  exhaustion,  statistics 
show,  is  the  disease  that  the  missionary  is  especially  liable 
to,  and  it  is  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  trying  and 
obstinate  when  once  it  gets  a  good  hold  on  the  system.  For 
this  reason,  and  for  the  good  of  the  cause,  every  effort  should 
be  made  to  find  any  and  all  means  whereby  the  new  mis- 
sionary can  be  saved  this  trying  ordeal  and  to  secure  a 
larger  amount  of  effective  labour.  Admitting  that  there  are 
adverse  circumstances  against  which  the  missionary  must 
labour,  and  that  worry  and  friction  to  a  certain  degree 
always  will  exist,  there  are,  nevertheless,  mistakes  into  which 
both  Boards  and  Missions  have  fallen,  according  to  the  ex- 
periences of  many  who  have  looked  into  this  subject  which 
should  be  avoided,  and  some  new  laws  or  regulations  should 
be  put  into  practice. 

I.  More  care  should  be  taken  in  the  selection  and  examina- 
tion of  candidates  for  the  field  by  the  Board  and  its  medical 
advisers.  Dr.  Taylor  rightly  says,  "  A  mistake  is  frequently 
made  in  sending  persons  to  a  foreign  field  who  are  too  young 
and  immature.  But  few  persons  under  thirty  are  physically 
and  mentally  prepared  for  the  hard,  anxious  work  which  is 
to  devolve  upon  them.  Married  ladies  should  not  be  sent 


350  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

out  under  twenty-two  or  twenty-four.  Especially  would 
I  insist  that  no  single  lady  be  sent  out  under  twenty-four 
or  twenty-six.  The  strain  which  comes  upon  a  single  lady 
in  coming  to  and  engaging  in  foreign  work  is  much  greater 
than  that  which  falls  upon  her  married  sister.  Again  the 
mistake  is  made  of  sending  out  men  whose  health  has  been 
very  much  impaired  seriously  (though  not  permanently) 
from  a  course  of  hard  study  and  close  confinement.  Fre- 
quently ladies  whose  health  has  been  very  much  impaired 
from  years  of  hard  labour  as  teachers  are  sent  out.  The 
vain  thought  is  entertained  that  a  change  and  sea  air  will 
work  marvellously  in  their  cases."  "  We  need  men  in  whom 
the  element  of  fret  is  small  and  the  element  of  patience 
large." 

II.  The  length  of  time  given  to  the  study  of  the  language 
before  responsible  work  is  taken  up.  To  look  at  this  sub- 
ject from  a  standpoint  of  health  we  are  led  to  the  same 
conclusion  that  at  least  three  of  the  Foreign  Missions  have 
come  to,  viz. :  that  much  too  little  time  is  given  to  this 
most  important  preparation  before  responsible  work  is  laid 
upon  the  new  worker.  Either  his  own  sincere  desire  to  be 
at  work  or  the  ill  advice  of  his  older  associates,  or  the  want 
of  the  necessary  direction  from  the  Board,  or  all  together, 
launch  the  young  missionary  into  a  sea  of  duties,  be  they 
great  or  small,  before  he  has  acquired  enough  familiarity 
with  the  language  and  people,  which  is  enough,  if  the  person 
has  any  sensitiveness,  to  cause  him  or  her  immediately  to 
chafe  and  worry,  and  in  all  probability,  never  to  acquire 
the  language  perfectly,  nor  to  learn  calm,  easy  habits  of 
work.  As  Dr.  Taylor  says,  "  The  labour  of  acquiring  the 
language,  and  the  responsible  trying  duties  of  missionary 
life  are  too  great  to  be  assumed  at  the  same  time.  They 
react  on  each  other."  In  our  field  in  Persia,  a  number  have 
had  to,  and  will  have  to,  chafe  through  their  entire  service 
because  of  just  this  mistake.  Two  Missions  have  recently 
passed  resolutions  giving  three  full  years  to  all  new  mis- 
sionaries to  secure  a  knowledge  of  the  language  and  people. 
For  us  in  this  field  I  am  not  prepared  to  recommend  so 
long  a  preparation,  but  I  would  insist  that  one  entire  year 
be  given  to  all  newcomers  free  from  any  responsible  work 
whatever,  and  that  during  the  second  year,  only  light  burdens 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  351 

be  laid  upon  the  beginner,  allowing  him  to  get  familiar  with 
the  people  and  work,  and  to  obtain  a  good  knowledge  of  the 
language  before  assuming  responsible  duties. 

III.  How  often  should  missionaries  be  expected  to  take  a 
furlough?    My  opinion  is  that  in  the  West  Pessia  Mission,  if 
for  two  years  the  new  missionary  devotes  most  of  his  time  and 
strength  in  getting  the  language  and  familiarizing  himself 
with  the  work  and  people,  at  the  close  of  the  seventh  year 
it  will  be  advisable  for  him  to  go  home  for  one  and  a  half 
years  to  two  years,  and  subsequently  every  tenth  year.     By 
adopting  these  two  rules  together,  that  of  not  doing  any 
responsible  work  the  first  year,  and  but  little  the  second, 
and  then  looking  forward  to  a  cordial   invitation  by  the 
Board  to  take  a  vacation  of  two  years  at  the  end  of  the 
seventh,  and  after  that  once  in  ten  years,  I  feel  sure,  and 
the    statistics    and    experience    of    older    observers    confirm 
me  in  this  view,  that  the  labourer  will  do  better  and  longer 
work,  and  the  Board  will  be  called  upon  for  a  smaller  outlay 
of  money  upon  its  broken-down  missionaries. 

IV.  Such  rest  as  can  be  obtained  should  be  taken  yearly. 
It  seems  clear  that  although  no  real  change  and  rest  can 
be  obtained  short  of  Europe  or  Russia,  it  is  all  important 
that  all  the  missionaries  avail  themselves  of  what  rest  and 
change  of  residence  for  two  or  three  weeks  can  give  by  the 
lakeside  or  in  some  high  village.     This  should  be  done  once 
a  year  at  least.     If  these  four  remedies  or  preventives  be 
accepted,  I  am  sure  we  will  get  good  results  from  them. 

The  conscience  which  Dr.  Cochran  put  into  all  his 
medical  work  was  a  Christian  conscience.  He  was 
no  mere  physician  and  surgeon.  He  was  a  Christian 
man  and  a  missionary.  He  was  very  generous  and 
tolerant  in  his  attitude  toward  the  practices  of  others, 
but  he  was  very  careful  and  strict  in  all  his  personal 
ways.  In  the  Station  he  never  allowed  the  hospital  to 
take  precedence  over  forms  of  work  which  he  deemed 
even  more  vital  to  the  development  of  the  native 
Church.  In  a  careful  appeal  for  re-enforcements  and 
enlargement,  he  placed  first  some  ordained  mission- 


352  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

aries,  second  native  preachers,  third  intermediate  and 
village  schools,  and  at  the  end  of  the  list  additional 
appropriations  for  the  hospital.  Another  year  he 
closes  a  statement  of  his  needs  with  the  words,  "  I 
have  hesitated  to  ask  for  more  than  we  do  of  the  Board, 
lest  it  seem  too  much  in  proportion  to  the  estimate 
for  strictly  evangelistic  work."  He  was  no  mere  phi- 
lanthropist or  healer  of  men's  bodies. 

And  he  might  truthfully  have  claimed  that  much  of 
his  work  was  strictly  evangelistic.  "  Dr.  Cochran  is 
not  a  '  reverend,' "  wrote  Dr.  Shedd  in  1886,  "  but  he 
does  excellent  work  visiting  congregations  on  Sunday, 
and  talking  to  them  as  a  layman."  Here  is  an  outline 
of  one  of  his  talks  on  the  men  in  the  Book  of  Daniel 
who  were  faithful  and  not  afraid : — 

LESSONS  IN  CONSCIENCE  AND  FAITH 

Conscience : — 

I. — What  were  the  men  asked  to  do? 
How  simple  was  the  request. 
How  easy  to  escape  from  punishment. 
How  explicit  was  their  duty? 
II. — Conscience  supreme  as  soon  as  tested. 
Supreme  above  all  violence  of  kings. 
Supreme  over  all  statutes  of  men. 
Supreme  over  all  majorities  in  public  sentiment. 
Supreme  over  all  personal  consideration  of  safety. 

Faith:— 

I. — What  was  the  ground  of  their  trust? 
Sustained  by  consciousness  of  right. 
Sustained  by  companionship. 
Sustained  because  God  was  with  them. 
IE. — Full  triumph  of  faith. 

A  great  victory  to  be  unhurt  by  fire. 
A  great  victory  to  disappoint  and  humiliate  the  king. 
A  great  victory  to  establish  their  faith  in  Jehovah 
forever. 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  353 

And  in  the  hospital  he  had  no  other  thought  than 
that  he  was  preaching  Christianity,  and  no  timidity 
deterred  him  from  making  the  hospital  a  centre  of 
active  and  unhesitating  effort  to  win  to  Christ  all  who 
came, — Nestorian,  Armenian,  Jew,  or  Moslem.  In  one 
of  his  reports  he  wrote : — 

It  is  the  rule  to  have  morning  and  evening  public  prayers 
which,  on  an  average,  more  than  half  of  the  patients  can 
attend.  Until  this  fall,  for  want  of  room,  we  have  con- 
ducted these  exercises  in  the  wards,  but  now  we  have  a  good- 
sized  room,  formerly  occupied  by  the  matron,  especially  set 
aside  for  a  chapel,  where  two  services  are  held  every  day. 
Short  morning  prayers  before  breakfast  are  conducted  by  the 
medical  students,  while  the  evening  services,  to  which  more 
time  is  given,  Hakim  Oshana  leads.  These  exercises  are 
in  Syriac  or  Turkish,  as  the  case  requires.  Both  for  the 
men  and  women  special  reading  of  the  Scripture  and  prayers 
are  held  every  day  by  the  matron  or  others  whom  she 
calls  on.  On  the  Sabbath,  during  the  college  session,  all 
who  can  are  required  to  attend  the  services  there,  while 
those  who  are  confined  to  their  rooms  have  special  exer- 
cises. During  the  vacations  of  the  college,  I  have  a 
Bible  class  in  tbe  forenoon  for  the  hospital  patients,  to 
which  all  the  servants  in  the  yard  come,  and  in  the  after- 
noon a  preaching  service  is  held.  If  the  service  has 
been  in  Syriac,  and  part  have  not  understood  it,  a  sub- 
sequent talk  has  been  given  them  in  a  language  they 
understand. 

It  has  always  been  my  rule  in  dealing  with  individual 
patients  in  the  hospital,  and  as  far  as  practicable  outside, 
to  conduct  the  conversation  in  such  a  way  as  to  lead  them 
to  look  to  the  Great  Physician,  who  alone  can  heal  them 
and  bless  the  means  we  use  for  their  recovery.  I  endeavour 
to  direct  their  thoughts  to  God,  and  give  them  to  understand 
that  our  only  reliance  for  their  cure  is  on  Him.  This 
has  led  to  many  very  interesting  conversations  with  persons 
of  the  different  religions. 

We  have  reason  to  hope  that  the  hospital  is  having  a 
considerable  influence  for  good  throughout  tbe  districts  from 


354  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

which  our  patients  come.  A  few  instances  may  better  show 
this. 

Baron  Sahik,  a  dissolute  Armenian  of  Salmas,  being 
badly  wounded,  remained  in  the  hospital  five  months.  For 
most  of  the  time  some  one  or  other  of  our  helpers  occupied 
the  same  ward.  He  daily  read  the  Scriptures,  and  usually 
attended  all  the  meetings.  On  leaving,  he  testified  to  his 
former  bad  character,  and  said  he  believed  that  God  had 
afflicted  him  that  he  might  have  this  opportunity  of  coming 
here  and  learning  the  true  way.  He  promised,  too,  to  do 
everything  in  his  power  to  help  along  the  gospel  work  in  his 
district. 

Another  case  is  that  of  a  young  and  warlike  mountain 
Nestorian  who  was  with  us  nine  months,  and  was  at  last 
relieved  of  a  most  distressing  malady.  He  has  gone  back 
to  his  mountain  home,  and  we  are  told  that  he  says  to  every 
one  who  speaks  lightly  of  the  gospel  work,  "  I  have  lived  nine 
months  with  the  missionaries,  and  I  know  they  are  a  Godly 
people.  I,  for  one,  will  always  listen  to  their  preachers." 

Another,  a  Khan,  master  of  several  villages,  whose  son 
was  operated  on,  told  us  while  here  that  he  was  almost  per- 
suaded to  be  a  Christian,  and  when  the  Armenian  priest 
endeavoured  to  prevent  our  teacher  from  getting  a  school 
in  his  village,  this  master  called  both  to  his  house,  and  after 
examining  them  as  to  their  motives  and  purposes,  decided 
in  favour  of  our  helper,  saying,  "  I  have  become  acquainted 
with  the  missionaries,  and  desire  their  men  in  my  village, 
and  shall  send  my  own  boys  to  their  teacher."  His  friend- 
ship continues  steadfast. 

Recently  Sheikh  Sadik's  wife  and  daughter  were  in  the 
hospital,  and  this  now  insures  the  safety  of  our  evangelists 
and  teachers  in  his  district. 

Examples  might  be  multiplied,  but  this  will  suffice  to 
illustrate  the  effect  this  branch  of  our  work  may  have  on 
the  direct  evangelistic  work. 

Another  case  may  be  quoted  from  a  report  of  one 
of  his  associates  in  1898 : — 

Mirza  Ali  of  Khoi,  a  member  of  the  medical  class,  died 
last  week  at  the  hospital.  When  he  came  to  Urumia  about 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  355 

four  years  ago,  he  was  a  very  strict  Mohammedan,  belonging 
to  a  family  of  sayids  and  mullahs,  so  strict,  indeed,  that 
there  was  some  thought  of  his  not  being  permitted  to  return 
the  following  year,  as  it  was  feared  he  might  report  what 
was  being  done  for  his  fellow-religionists.  He  attended  Dr. 
Cochran's  Bible  Class  on  Sunday  afternoons,  however,  and 
especially  this  year  seemed  much  interested.  Lately,  he 
more  than  once  declared  quite  openly,  in  this  class  of  Mos- 
lems, that  he  believed  Christ  was  the  only  Saviour,  and  in 
Him  alone  was  there  hope  of  life  eternal.  He  was  much 
afraid  to  die,  and  before  the  days  of  unconsciousness  had 
frequent  conversations  with  Dr.  Cochran  upon  this  subject. 

He  was  greatly  interested  in  temperance.  In  a 
Moslem  land,  he  felt  keenly  the  reproach  which  Ori- 
ental Christianity  suffers  because  of  the  use  of  wine. 
He  knew  how  deep  were  the  ravages  made  by  opium 
and  alcohol  among  Mohammedans,  and  how  untrue  is 
the  idea  of  the  West  that  in  Mohammedan  countries 
wine  and  all  liquor  are  unused.  But  he  knew,  also, 
that  Christian  lands,  and  the  example  of  supposed 
Christian  peoples  were  responsible  for  the  growing 
evil,  and  he  earnestly  argued  that  the  Evangelical 
Church  should  be  clean  of  all  guilt.  He  realized  the 
sacrifice  which  was  involved  where  so  much  of  the 
wealth  of  the  people  was  in  vineyards  and  their  prod- 
uct. In  one  report  he  wrote : — 

The  question  of  temperance  has  been  before  the  Church  fre- 
quently during  the  year,  but  we  regret  to  have  to  report  that 
but  few  of  our  congregations  have  practised  total  abstinence. 
Opium  and  alcohol  are  the  two  remedies  obtainable  in  nearly 
all  places  and  resorted  to  quite  universally  for  all  pains  and 
aches,  and  it  is  very  difficult  to  eradicate  from  the  mind 
of  one  whose  severe  pains  have  been  smothered  by  arack 
that  it  is  not  the  necessary  cure  for  pain.  But  aside  from 
its  medicinal  uses,  it  is  employed  by  many  of  our  Church 
people  with  the  evening  meal.  The  question  is  a  vital  one 


356  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

with  us.  The  other  three  large  Missions  make  a  practise  of 
drinking,  and  their  followers  often  drink  heavily.  Wine  and 
arack  are  being  used  more  universally  by  all  classes  every 
year.  Some  feel  that  total  abstinence  should  be  required  of  all 
communicants,  and  that  nothing  short  of  this  can  be  safely 
allowed  in  this  country,  while  others  favour  the  constant 
working  upon  the  consciences  of  our  Church  members  until  it 
shall  be  a  voluntary  step.  Prayerful  consideration  of  this 
subject  must  be  given  by  both  the  missionaries  and  the  native 
Church. 

He  often  made  speeches  on  the  subject.    Here  is 
one  of  his  outlines: — 

ALCOHOL— SEVEN  FACTS 

1. — Affinity  for  Water. 

Enters  every  part  body.    Leaves  tissues  hard  and  dry. 
Osmose. 

2. — Enters  Directly  Into  Blood. 

Shrinks   corpuscles,   lessens   oxidation.     Effete   matter 
increased.    Fatty,  bloating,  degeneration. 

3. — Disorders    and   Diminishes    Working    Power    of   Every 

Organ. 
Irritates    stomach,   lessens    gastric   juice,   precipitates 

pepsin. 

Irritates  kidneys,  lessens  elimination. 
Irritates,  congests,  thickens  liver. 
Obstructs  aeration  in  lungs. 
Excites  heart,  then  depresses  it. 
Congests  brain,  then  makes  it  anemic. 

4. — Does  not  Warm  Body. 

Its  effects  on  corpuscles  prevent  it  from  wanning  the 
body. 

5. — It  is  Not  a  Food  in  Any  Sense. 
Nor  does  it  diminish  waste. 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  357 

6. — Uses  as  a  Medicine. 
External,  excitant. 

7. — Foreigner  to  the  Body.    An  Enemy. 

Usurped   sceptre   and   throne,   through   seas   of   blood 

greater  than  J.  C. 

Blood  from  every  pore  and  tissue,  from  within. 
Blood  from  feuds  without. 
Blood  from  wretchedness,  misery,  starvation,  disease, 

and  crime. 

Virtues.     Yes,  but  so  had  Nero,  Alexander,  and  Na- 
poleon. 
Nero  killed  himself.     Alexander  conquered  by  it,  and 

killed  by  it. 

Napoleon  robbed  by  his  own  people,  exiled. 
It  will  not  die. 
Banish  it. 
I  stand  before  a  Christian  congregation,  in  a  church. 

Gough's  conversion. 
I  do  not  appeal  to  you  for  your  bodies  merely,  but  for 

your  souls. 

I  do  not  appeal  to  you  as  irresponsible  individuals. 
You  cannot  live  in  this  world  to  yourselves. 
Your  examples  and  your  lives  must  affect  others. 
It  is  a  dangerous  thing  to  see  a  new  light,  -and  make  a 

consequent  resolve  which  we  fail  to  conserve  in  a 

deed  done! 
"  True  manliness  is  the  quality  in  any  man  by  which 

he  is  capable  of  first  receiving  into  himself,  and  then 

distributing  through  himself  to  others,  some  part  of 

the  life  of  God." 

He  pressed  the  matter  on  his  medical  students,  also. 

This  chapter  on  Dr.  Cochran's  life  and  work,  his 
spirit  and  aims  as  a  medical  missionary,  cannot  be 
closed  better  than  by  three  testimonies  from  those  who 
saw  him  closely,,  and  watched  him,  not  for  a  few  days 
only,  but  through  many  years.  The  first  is  from  one 
of  the  Nestorian  preachers,  Rabbi  Ephrem  Orshan : — 


358      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

Before  I  was  a  patient,  I  knew  well  Dr.  Cochran  for  many 
years,  but  my  knowledge  was  increased  while  I  was  a  patient 
in  the  hospital,  and  I  can  say  that  he  was  more  than  a 
doctor. 

Reasons  why  he  was  more  than  a  doctor: — 

1st.  He  was  more  than  a  doctor  in  his  profession;  that  is, 
he  was  expert  in  all  the  branches  of  doctorship.  For  in- 
stance, he  was  an  oculist,  a  surgeon,  etc. 

2nd.  In  his  treatment  of  patients  he  was  very  pleasant  to 
his  patients  in  his  encouragement  and  sympathy.  He  suf- 
fered with  the  sufferers,  was  sorry  when  they  were  in  pain, 
did  not  sleep  nights,  but  was  ready  to  go  to  them,  was  very 
glad  when  they  were  dismissed  cured. 

3rd.  Because  he  had  many  valuable  characteristics.  He 
was  faithful  when  at  work,  was  never  idle,  was  always  in 
the  hospital,  although  he  had  many  assistants  and  pupils, 
he  tried  to  visit  the  patients  every  day.  The  patients  never 
complained  of  him,  although  they  wanted  him  always  with 
them.  He  visited  them  during  the  night  if  it  was  necessary, 
and  in  the  night  he  was  as  pleasant  as  in  midday.  More 
than  all,  he  had  patience  and  forbearance,  although  there 
were  always  many  irregularities  in  the  hospital  just  as  in  a 
family  in  a  home.  He  was  quiet  always  at  his  post  like  a 
courageous  man.  He  was  an  expert  in  his  dealings  with 
various  classes  of  the  sick  that  came  to  the  hospital,  as 
officials,  literary  men,  and  nobility,  etc.  He  knew  how  to 
deal  with  each  one  properly.  Many  officials  used  to  come 
to  him,  not  only  for  physical  troubles,  but  for  advice  about 
other  business.  They  looked  upon  him  not  only  as  an  in- 
dependent physician,  but  as  a  king  and  prince.  There  came 
to  him  the  officers  of  the  State,  the  Chiefs  of  the  Kurds, 
Sheikhs,  Sunnees  and  ecclesiastics  to  consult  him.  The 
Turkish  Vice-Consul  Shahbandar  said  to  me,  if  you  want 
to  know  perfectly  Dr.  Cochran,  you  should  visit  Turkey  as 
far  as  Mosul  and  other  places,  and  then  you  would  know  how 
much  honour  he  has  from  valis,  kaimakams,  and  pashas. 
All  these  characteristics  had  united  to  make  such  a  worthy 
man. 

4th.  The  other  thing  which  made  Dr.  Cochran  famous  was 
his  saintly  character,  in  his  treatment  always  trusting  the 
power  of  God.  He  was  of  humble  spirit. 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  359 

5th.  In  his  missionary  work  he  was  more  than  a  doctor. 
He  was  as  a  missionary  in  the  hospital  preaching  Christ, 
and  this  was  one  of  his  aims  there.  He  advised  the  sick 
to  trust  first  Christ.  While  I  was  on  a  bed  in  the  hospital 
myself,  he  came  to  me  at  first,  and  said,  "Do  not  put 
all  your  hope  upon  my  profession,  but  remember  Christ  who 
is  the  chief  doctor,  and  I  will  try  by  His  power  to  cure 
you."  He  had  arranged  to  have  religious  services  both 
morning  and  evening  in  the  hospital.  So  the  hospital  was 
a  sort  of  theological  school.  There  was  discussion  always 
going  on  between  men  of  different  religions.  I  remember  a 
sayid  once  in  the  hospital  when  I  was  there.  Dr.  Cochran 
asked  me  to  talk  with  him  about  religion.  In  the  end  he 
asked  what  he  should  do  to  be  saved.  Well,  we  told  him  to 
believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  left  the  hospital  under  this 
impression.  There  are  many  others  who  left  the  hospital 
carrying  with  them  these  influences  and  impressions.  One 
of  the  officials  in  Urumia  said  to  me,  "  If  there  is  a  good 
man  in  the  world  he  is  Dr.  Cochran."  Yes,  he  was  a  doctor 
and  more  than  a  doctor. 

The  second  is  from  the  Rev.  W.  A.  Shedd : — 

I  have  been  out  at  the  college  to-day  for  the  Communion 
service.  It  was  a  very  delightful  time.  It  is  the  first  time 
I  have  been  at  the  college  for  Sunday  since  we  came  into  the 
city,  and  for  a  service  possibly  since  doctor's  death.  At 
any  rate,  I  don't  know  when  I  have  felt  so  keenly  doctor's 
absence.  That  he  rejoiced  with  us  we  must  believe.  I 
have  preached  many  times  at  the  college,  and  usually  doctor 
has  been  in  the  audience.  I  could  always  be  sure  that 
there  was  one  sympathetic,  humble  listener  in  him.  My 
mind  has  been  going  to-day  on  this  aspect — the  religious — 
of  his  character,  and  perhaps  a  few  things  I  can  jot  down 
may  be  of  help.  I  think  the  predominant  religious  trait 
was  his  genuine  humility.  He  always  seemed  glad  to  hear 
and  to  learn.  This  real  humility  marked  his  character  in 
everything.  He  scarcely  ever  voluntarily  told  any  one  of 
his  medical  work,  his  surgical  operations,  government  work, 
that  in  any  way  displayed  his  influence,  and  least  of  all, 
religious  work.  I  think  he  felt  more  and  more  deeply  the 


360  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

importance  of  following  up  his  medical  work  with  direct 
religious  work,  and  did  more  such  work  himself.  He  had 
no  taste  for  theological  subtleties,  and  I  doubt  whether  he 
ever  engaged  in  religious  controversy — certainly  very  rarely. 
I  have  at  various  times  made  suggestions  as  to  religious 
work  in  the  hospital  or  Bible  teaching  of  the  medical  class, 
and  he  was  always  most  grateful  and  ready  to  co-operate  in 
such  plans.  So  in  every  line  with  this  genuine  humility 
there  was  also  real  positiveness  of  religious  conviction  and 
influence.  He  preferred  to  give  place  to  the  other  men  of 
the  Station  in  leading  our  prayer  meeting,  but  he  often  led. 
When  he  did,  he  always  had  something  suggestive  and  posi- 
tive to  say,  based  on  the  careful  study  of  some  Scripture 
passage.  So  in  relation  to  the  native  Church  he  took  a  very 
definite  interest  in  the  plans  for  its  work,  and  was  always 
ready  to  do  all  he  could  to  help  it  on.  It  was  doubtless  a 
wise  conservation  of  strength  that  kept  him  from  taking 
any  active  part  in  direct  evangelization  by  means  of  preach- 
ing. He  had  no  use  for  physicians  who  only  half  learned 
their  profession  or  who  allowed  other  lines  of  work  to  dis- 
sipate their  strength  and  skill.  His  deep  interest  in  the 
Church  work  was  marked  in  the  Station  counsels,  where  any 
question  involving  men  or  measures  for  evangelistic  work 
always  enlisted  his  heartiest  consideration.  His  knowledge 
of  the  native  brethren,  of  the  field,  even  those  parts  he  had 
never  visited,  and  of  the  people,  made  his  advice  in  these 
matters  second  to  that  of  no  one,  even  those  directly  engaged 
in  the  Church  work. 

He  said  but  little  of  his  own  spiritual  life,  but  I  am  sure 
that  prayer  was  a  very  vital  part  of  it.  No  one  can  doubt 
that  his  private  devotions  were  regular  and  genuine,  as  were 
family  prayers  in  his  home.  Prayer  was  also  a  vital  force  in 
his  medical  practice.  At  one  time,  when  the  question  of 
faith  healing  vs.  medicine  was  being  discussed,  it  was  very 
noticeable  how  he  never  permitted  himself  to  doubt  the 
efficiency  or  limit  the  power  of  prayer.  He  said  once  that  he 
himself  never  undertook  a  surgical  operation  without  definite 
prayer  for  help.  In  our  meetings  together  as  missionaries, 
and  also  in  more  public  meetings,  he  was  more  ready  to  lead 
in  prayer  than  to  make  remarks. 

But,  of  course,  the  great  beauty  of  his  religious  life  was 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  361 

its  fruitage  in  Christlikeness  of  character  and  activity.  His 
great  aim  was  missionary,  and  not  philanthropic.  I  used  to 
feel  sometimes  that  he  insisted  too  strongly  that  medical 
work  was  justified,  not  by  its  merciful  relieving  of  suffering, 
but  as  a  means  to  the  preaching  of  Christ.  So  his  sympathies 
and  his  influence  were  as  broad  as  the  work.  And  in  his 
religious  life  and  character  he  grew.  I  don't  know  that 
there  were  any  crises  in  his  spiritual  life,  certainly  there 
were  not  as  many  ups  and  downs  as  is  the  case  with  most 
of  us,  but  there  was  growth  which  was  very  perceptible. 

As  I  have  thought  of  doctor,  especially  as  I  have  had  to 
try  to  do  some  of  the  work  he  did,  what  I  have  wondered 
at  more  than  anything  else  is  the  degree  of  perfectness,  of 
real  Christlikeness,  in  the  details  of  his  work,  his  patience, 
considerateness,  and  faithfulness.  It  is  hard,  but  it  is 
also  very  inspiring  to  take  up  any  part  of  such  a  man's 
life. 

The  third  is  from  his  sister,  Mrs.  Ponafidine : — 

The  hospital  was  ever  a  revelation  to  the  people.  Mother 
made  the  home  part  of  it  so  perfect  with  flowers  and  pictures, 
and  her  own  bright,  cheery  presence,  and  Joe  the  physicians', 
and  one  could  hardly  say  that  one  could  have  worked  without 
the  other  those  first  years,  in  making  the  institution  what 
it  was.  There  were  always  many  Kurds  in  the  hospital,  and 
to  them  the  contrast  between  their  own  homes  and  it  must 
have  been  particularly  great.  I  remember  one  case,  a  petty 
Sheikh  who,  on  a  robbing  excursion,  had  been  wounded  in 
rather  a  strange  way.  The  bullet  had  passed  through  the 
lower  part  of  the  horse's  body,  and  through  the  man's  ankle, 
crushing  the  small  bones.  The  horse  was  able  to  carry  his 
master  safely  out  of  the  melee  and  almost  to  his  home, 
when  the  faithful  beast  dropped  dead.  The  wounded  man 
was  attended  to  in  the  primitive  Kurdish  fashion,  but  after 
a  month  of  suffering  he  was  at  last,  like  so  many  of  his  tribe, 
brought  down  to  the  hospital  with  a  very  bad  leg.  He  was 
accompanied  by  a  large  retinue  of  riders,  and  a  very  pretty 
young  wife.  He  was  in  the  hospital  a  long  time,  and  finally 
dismissed  quite  cured.  He  suffered  greatly,  and  was  twice 
chloroformed  for  minor  operations.  All  through  it  he  was 


362  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

in  most  comical  terror  of  betraying  himself  by  a  cry  or 
groan.  It  took  a  great  deal  of  talking  to  persuade  him  to 
consent  to  chloroform,  as  he  had  heard  that  people  under 
the  influence  of  the  anesthetic  often  cried  out  or  groaned, 
and  he  said  if  his  wife  or  servants  heard  him,  the  former 
would  forsake  him  for  a  braver  man,  and  the  latter  would, 
on  returning  home,  tell  his  people,  and  his  influence  with  the 
tribe  would  be  gone.  We  promised  him  that  none  of  them 
should  be  within  hearing,  and  I  remember  during  the  opera- 
tion once  or  twice  the  door  opened,  and  we  saw  the  wife 
peeping  in,  and  she  had  to  be  coaxed  away.  When  the 
operation  was  over,  and  the  effects  of  the  chloroform  were 
off,  one  of  the  first  words  the  chieftain  asked  was  if  he  had 
betrayed  himself,  and  his  relief  was  very  evident  when  told 
that  not  a  sound  had  escaped  him.  As  I  came  to  know  the 
young  wife  better,  in  a  moment  of  rash  confidence  she  slipped 
down  her  loose  long  robe,  and  showed  me  her  back  and 
shoulders.  To  my  horror  I  saw  she  was  a  mass  of  bruises 
and  great  welts.  She  explained  that  when  her  husband 
suffered  very  much  at  night,  nothing  so  relieved  him  as  to 
have  his  men  lay  her  across  the  bed,  face  down,  and  let  him 
pound  her  with  his  stick,  and  listen  to  her  cries.  She  hap- 
pened to  tell  me  this,  but  did  not  think  of  complaining  of 
her  husband.  I  at  once  told  Joe  of  it,  for  he  had  already 
been  puzzled  by  the  reports  of  cries  in  the  Sheikh's  room 
that  ceased  if  any  one  knocked,  and  no  explanation  could 
be  had.  I  think  I  never  remember  Joe  so  indignant  as  he 
was  then,  for  he,  like  all  of  us,  had  learned  to  admire  and 
like  the  patient  little  woman  who  was  so  devoted  a  nurse 
to  her  very  exacting  lord.  He  at  once  went  to  the  Sheikh's 
room,  and  had  a  long  talk  with  him,  trying  to  instil  into 
his  mind  our  ideas  of  the  duties  of  husband  and  wife,  but 
as  none  of  them  seemed  to  sink  in,  he  declared  very  decidedly 
to  the  Sheikh  that  if  he  knew  of  his  touching  his  wife  again, 
he  would  be  at  once  dismissed  from  the  hospital,  no  matter 
how  ill  he  might  be.  This  made  a  great  impression,  for  the 
man  saw  he  was  being  cured,  and  he  also  knew,  as  every 
one  who  came  in  contact  with  Joe  at  once  felt,  that  he  would 
keep  his  word.  So  from  that  time  on  he  had  to  bear  his 
pain  as  best  he  could  without  hearing  his  wife's  cries  to 
cover  his  own  groans.  These  were  the  people  among  whom 


AS  A  MEDICAL  MISSIONARY  363 

Joe  worked  for  years,  and  however  rough  and  rude  they  were, 
they  always  seemed  to  be  touched  by  contact  with  him. 

I  remember  a  journey  to  Van,  Turkey,  in  1886,  I  think. 
Coming  back,  we  took  a  cut  right  through  the  mountains 
among  the  wildest  Kurds.  Almost  everywhere  we  were  asked 
if  we  were  the  people  of  the  Hakim  Sahib,  and  great  was 
their  delight  when  they  found  he  himself  was  there.  One 
night,  after  a  very  bad  day  of  pouring  rain,  during  which 
the  packhorse  with  the  bedding  got  carried  down  by  a 
mountain  torrent  for  some  distance,  soaking  the  bedding, 
we  at  last  halted  at  a  little  village  way  up  among  the  clouds 
and  snows,  though  it  was  summer.  We  were  nearly  frozen, 
for  it  was  a  great  altitude,  the  horses  were  exhausted,  and 
we  ourselves  dripping.  Now  every  one  who  has  lived  in 
Persia  knows  that  if  there  is  anything  more  objectionable 
to  a  fanatical  Moslem  than  an  ordinary  Christian,  it  is  a 
wet  one,  and  these  mountain  villagers  seemed  the  most 
fanatical  of  the  fanatic,  and  not  even  a  stable  was  open  to 
us.  From  hovel  to  hovel  we  went,  offering  good  pay,  and 
at  last  it  seemed  as  if  we  should  have  to  put  up  our  wet  tent 
and  sleep  under  it,  while  the  poor  horses  were  in  the  open. 
Just  then  a  man  came  along,  and  peering  into  Joe's  face, 
gave  a  cry,  and  seized  his  coat,  and  began  kissing  it.  It 
was  the  old  story — a  hospital  patient — and  we  knew  our 
troubles  were  over.  The  best  he  had,  which  was  a  large 
room  inhabited  by  his  whole  family  and  the  animals  to 
boot,  was  at  our  disposal,  and  the  shivering  horses  were  led 
in,  too.  We  found  the  corner,  which  was  the  living-room, 
swept  clean,  and  with  some  signs  of  comfort,  and  the  beaming 
host  explained  to  us  that  on  his  return  he  had  tried  to  teach 
his  wife  to  keep  things  clean  as  the  "great  lady"  did  the 
hospital.  I  remember  with  what  trouble  Joe  persuaded  them 
the  next  morning  to  accept  at  least  enough  to  cover  the 
actual  food  and  fodder  used  by  us — they  were  evidently  very, 
very  poor,  but  they  did  not  wish  pay.  That  evening  half 
the  village  came  in,  and  many  said,  in  a  half-astonished 
way,  "If  you  had  only  told  us  at  the  beginning  who  you 
were,  none  would  have  refused  you  shelter,  for  many  of  our 
tribe  have  been  in  your  hospital,  and  have  told  us  of  you 
and  your  mother,  who  is  as  a  mother  to  all  the  sick."  This 
is  one  of  many,  many  incidents  that  those  travelling  in 


364  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHBAN 

the  mountains  and  plains  could  tell,  and  always  hand  in  hand 
with  the  devotion  to  the  Hakim  was  the  love  and  reverence 
expressed  for  the  great  lady — for  her  love  for  them  and  for 
her  cleanliness.  This  latter  point  in  connection  with  Euro- 
pean hospitals  is  regarded  as  a  matter  of  course,  but  to  these 
miserable,  dirty  mountaineers,  the  daily  struggles  mother  had 
with  them  to  get  them  to  regard  the  most  elementary  rules 
of  hygiene  and  decency,  made  so  deep  an  impression  that 
they  veritably  believed  that  "cleanliness  was  next  to  God- 
liness" in  her  eyes.  To  those  in  hospital  work  in  civilized 
countries,  it  is  impossible  to  realize  what  mother  and  Joe 
went  through  the  first  years  when  the  nurses  and  servants 
and  assistants  were  such  only  in  name,  and  showed  more 
disgust  and  disinclination  to  touch  the  poor  filthy  creatures 
than  did  they.  Twice  he  visited  us  in  Russia.  There  he 
was  unknown,  and  the  want  of  a  common  language  was  an 
obstacle  to  any  real  acquaintance,  and  yet  our  friends  used 
to  speak,  and  they  have  expressed  it  by  letter  since  his  death, 
of  the  feeling  that  there  was  something  in  him  that  drew 
them  to  him.  They  felt  the  goodness  and  the  sweetness  of 
the  man  even  when  many  words  could  not  pass  between 
them. 

I  feel  that  I  have  said  so  little  and  so  badly  what  I  would 
like  to  say  of  the  best  and  noblest  life  I  have  ever  known. 


XVII 
AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN 

"TT  REMEMBER  him  and  his  brother  Theodore," 
writes  Mrs.  S.  J.  Rhea,  who  lived  in  Urumia 
•*•  when  Dr.  Cochran  was  a  little  boy  there,  "  as 
inseparable  companions,  always  together,  emphasizing 
each  other,  beautiful,  brave,  manly,  athletic  in  their 
plays  and  struggles,  never  complaining  or  crying,  never 
cheating  or  taking  any  mean  advantage  or  making  un- 
lawful reprisals,  like  David  and  Jonathan.  Then  The- 
odore died  of  typhus  fever,  and  we  wondered  how 
Joseph  could  live  without  his  shadow.  But  he  did 
live  to  comfort  and  help  his  parents  and  sisters  and 
us  all.  His  form  was  dignified,  and  straight,  and 
strong,  and  manly.  Though  a  little  child  he  made  the 
very  most  of  his  body,  developing  every  muscle  as 
though  he  had  studied  his  after  profession  then,  and 
he  put  every  rule  into  practice.  He  knew  just  how 
to  sit,  and  stand,  and  walk,  and  breathe,  and  hold  his 
head;  and  there  was  a  special  grace  in  every  motion 
always,  such  as  we  expect  in  courtiers:  and  perhaps 
he  took  in,  like  the  breath  of  his  native  air,  an  Oriental 
courtesy,  so  unattainable  to  us  brusque  Occidentals, 
always  ready  to  lift  his  cap  and  give  most  cordial 
greeting  and  show  reverence,  especially  to  those  older, 
and  give  up  his  own  plans  and  convenience  to  help  any 
one  in  need,  and  confer  a  favour  or  help  a  young  child. 
He  was  like  a  trained  knight  of  the  Round  Table,  and 
in  purity  a  very  Galahad.  Every  one  who  knew  him 

365 


366  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

will  agree  to  this,  and  say,  *  He  made  the  very  same 
impression  on  me/  and  I  can  see  him  now  with  his 
head  up,  like  a  king,  and  as  if  he  were  going  on  an 
errand  of  importance,  but  never  so  self-centred  and 
preoccupied  that  he  could  not  watch  for  appeals  or 
1  adventures '  on  the  right  and  left,  and  ready  to  stop 
and  turn  aside  to  attend  to  any  call.  He  was  always 
ready  to  give  himself;  his  ears  were  quick  to  hear,  and 
his  eyes  to  see,  and  if  he  tried  to  help  you  he  knew 
how,  and  you  felt  that  he  could  help  you.  He  was  so 
efficient  and  handy;  what  he  undertook  you  knew  he 
would  accomplish.  Those  little  hands  were  getting 
ready  for  surgery  by  using  toys  and  tools,  and  making 
and  fixing  things.  He  was  always  so  appreciative  of 
any  little  favour  from  us  older  ones,  any  invitation  or 
entertainment  or  birthday  party,  and  afterward  when 
he  had  motherless  children  and  was  so  occupied  with 
his  varied  and  absorbing  cares,  he  made  it  his  business 
to  give  his  own  and  the  other  children  some  little 
treat  every  week,  such  as  a  ride,  or  a  stroll,  or  a  picnic, 
giving  himself  as  a  boy  to  the  boys,  and  making  their 
lives  to  overflow  with  good  cheer." 

What  he  had  been  as  a  boy  he  was  as  a  man. 
Courtesy  and  considerateness  were  part  of  his  nature. 
He  was  a  man  of  clear  and  quick  judgment,  and  of 
strong  and  unhesitating  action,  but  he  was  not  over- 
bearing or  assertive  or  discourteous.  He  did  not  sur- 
render his  politeness  or  dignity  under  excitement.  No 
one  ever  saw  his  forbearance  overtaxed,  though  there 
were  times  when  the  strain  was  greater  than  even  those 
closest  to  him  knew.  Jealousy  and  malice  and  selfish- 
ness were  qualities  of  a  lower  plane  than  that  on 
which  he  moved.  "  Among  those  characteristics  in 
him,  which  impressed  me  most  deeply,"  wrote  an 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  367 

American  woman,  "  was  his  gentlemanliness.  He  was 
a  gentleman  by  instinct  as  well  as  training."  Profes- 
sor Linden,  one  of  his  instructors  in  the  Central  High 
School  in  Buffalo,  said  of  him  as  a  boy,  "  He  was  the 
most  perfect  gentleman  I  have  ever  known  among  my 
pupils.  Instinctive  gentlemanliness  was  emphasized  by 
a  singular  gentleness  towards,  and  thoughtfulness  for 
others.  I  have  never,  even  under  most  trying  circum- 
stances, known  him  to  be  impatient  or  thoughtless  of 
others'  feelings." 

He  made  the  same  impression  of  courtesy  and  high- 
mindedness  upon  women  of  all  classes  in  Persia. 
"When  he  was  last  here,"  wrote  Miss  Holliday  of 
Tabriz,  "  two  ladies  of  the  Hadji  Kalentar  house  asked 
to  meet  him  at  the  hospital,  as  they  wished  to  see  him 
professionally,  but  dreaded  going  to  an  unfamiliar 
place  to  do  so.  A  visit  was  arranged  as  requested, 
at  which  Mrs.  Cochran  was  also  present.  The  ladies 
were  charmed  with  his  kindness  and  courtesy,  and 
said,  '  We  were  no  more  afraid  of  him  than  if  he  had 
been  our  father.'  They  told  their  families  they  were 
glad  to  have  been  ill,  as  it  had  been  the  means  of 
making  his  acquaintance." 

As  has  been  pointed  out,  he  had  a  thorough  knowl- 
edge of  Persian  etiquette,  and  was  as  much  at  his  ease 
with  the  Persian  nobility  as  with  the  Nestorian  Chris- 
tian villagers  or  with  home  people  in  America.  He 
recognized  the  good  purpose  in  all  earnest  work  of 
others,  however  imprudent,  but  he  always  sought  in 
his  own  work  to  avoid  giving  needless  offence,  and 
while  never  discouraging  any  one's  honest  efforts,  he 
again  and  again  protected  them  from  unnecessary  fail- 
ure by  his  tactful  adaptations  to  Oriental  ideas  of  pro- 
priety. 


368  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

He  was  a  delightful  conversationalist.  His  own  ex- 
perience, his  knowledge  of  Persian  stories,  his  con- 
tact with  life  in  many  lands,  his  exhaustless  fund  of 
anecdotes,  and  his  quiet  and  playful  wit,  made  him  the 
most  delightful  of  companions.  He  was  always  ready 
for  any  social  emergency.  When  the  Vali  Ahd,  the 
grandfather  of  the  present  Shah  of  Persia,  visited 
Urumia  some  years  ago,  the  doctor  went  out  with 
many  others  to  greet  him.  The  Vali  Ahd  called  him 
up  to  the  carriage,  and  held  out  his  hand  to  him, 
asking  to  have  his  pulse  felt  and  a  medical  opinion  of 
his  condition  given  immediately.  In  Persia  every  avail- 
able doctor  is  consulted  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  is 
expected  to  give  a  correct  diagnosis  on  the  spot  after 
feeling  the  pulse  and  looking  at  the  tongue.  Dr. 
Cochran  felt  the  pulse  with  all  due  solemnity,  and 
then,  with  quiet  acceptance  of  the  Oriental  situation, 
pronounced  the  entirely  satisfactory  verdict,  "  It  feels 
as  though  royal  blood  were  coursing  through  it."  It 
was  this  light  humour  which  brightened  all  his  social 
intercourse.  In  travelling,  no  matter  how  great  the 
inconvenience,  he  would  either  see  the  funny  side  of 
things  in  a  quiet  way,  or  he  would  take  the  hardship 
and  disappointment  with  stoical  unconcern.  To  one 
of  the  secretaries  of  the  Board,  tried  extremely  by  the 
importunity  of  some  Persian  scholars  and  noblemen 
who  had  come  to  America,  and  who  were  penniless  and 
would  not  work,  he  wrote: — 

Your  letter  of  4th  of  September  came  two  weeks  ago,  in 
the  midst  of  Annual  Meeting.  It  was  interesting  and  amus- 
ing, and  notwithstanding  the  tone  of  distress,  if  not  of 
despair,  in  it,  I  confess  I  had  a  feeling  of  a  little  pleasure 
at  the  thought  that  you  were  being  pressed  and  perplexed 
along  the  lines  that  we  are  so  often.  There  is  hardly  a  day 
but  that  some  one  person  at  least  comes  with  the  expression 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  369 

that  "  I  know  but  God  above  and  you  below,  and  so  you  must 
help  me,"  etc. 

In  the  familiarity  of  the  Station  life  he  was  a  great 
tease,  and  loved  nothing  better  than  a  good  practical 
joke,  although  he  very  much  disliked  being  teased. 

In  the  spring  of  1898  [wrote  Mrs.  Labaree]  Mr.  Labaree 
was  to  go  to  Mosul  to  take  over  the  business  affairs  of  the 
Station,  and  was  much  distressed  over  the  delay  in  starting 
caused  by  the  late  snowstorms.  He  had  instructed  Dr.  Yon- 
atan  of  Souj  Bulak  to  telegraph  when  the  roads  were  open. 
On  April  1st  Dr.  Cochran  sent  on  a  telegram  in  Persian 
for  Mr.  Labaree,  having  written  on  the  envelope,  "  excuse 
my  opening,"  and  inside  what  purported  to  be  the  transla- 
tion from  the  Persian, — "  New  snows,  blocked  road,  im- 
passable for  a  month. — Yonatan."  This  greatly  distressed 
Mr.  Labaree,  and  he  told  a  number  of  natives  about  it,  and 
then  it  all  turned  out  to  be  an  April  fool  hoax!  Dr.  Coch- 
ran was  always  a  delightful  traveller.  He  knew  how  to  make 
the  hardest  journey  as  comfortable  as  possible;  he  was  always 
on  the  lookout  for  the  comfort  of  all  the  members  of  the 
party,  and  had  a  fund  of  interesting  stories  and  information 
with  which  to  beguile  the  long  hours.  When  he  had  been 
off  on  an  itinerating  journey  he  would  spend  several  social 
evenings  after  his  return  in  recounting  his  adventures  to 
our  little  circle,  and  telling  of  the  interesting  places  he 
had  seen  and  the  people  he  had  met. 

When  Dr.  Cochran  toured  in  the  mountains,  he  suffered 
not  only  from  the  ordinary  discomforts  that  tired  other  mis- 
sionaries, and  from  the  swarms  of  people  who  came  to  be 
healed  and  left  him  no  time  for  rest,  but  also  from  a  very 
distressing  dizziness  at  a  high  altitude  or  going  over  the 
very  narrow  bridges  and  past  steep  precipices.  He  dared 
not  trust  himself  on  his  mule  in  such  places,  and  often  was 
forced  to  go  on  his  hands  and  knees  when  he  feared  to  walk. 
I  heard  him  tell  of  a  steep,  icy  incline  down  which  his 
party  was  coming  one  summer's  day  up  among  the  high  peaks 
of  Kurdistan.  All  had  dismounted,  and  the  doctor's  mule, 
with  saddlebags  containing  the  precious  medicines  and  in- 


370  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

struments,  began  to  slide  down  the  steep,  slippery  mountain- 
side, and  could  not  stop  itself.  Faster  and  faster  it  slid, 
and  suddenly  before  it  loomed  up  a  big  rock  right  in  its 
path.  The  doctor,  watching  with  bated  breath  from  above, 
gave  up  mule,  medicines,  and  all  for  lost.  But  just  before 
reaching  the  rock,  the  mule  gathered  its  four  feet  together, 
gave  a  bound  clean  over  the  rock,  came  down  on  all  fours, 
and  continued  to  coast  down  the  mountainside. 

His  charm  was  heightened  by  his  genuine  modesty. 
There  was  no  pretentiousness  or  boasting  of  any  sort. 
He  always  depreciated  his  abilities.  He  could  write 
the  most  fascinating  reports,  but  he  spoke  of  them  with 
diffidence  and  humility.  He  shrank  from  self-adver- 
tisement of  every  sort. 

"  In  1889,"  wrote  one  of  his  sisters,  "  when  my 
brother  visited  my  home  in  Sparta,  N.  Y.,  he  yielded 
to  my  wishes,  and  spoke  in  our  church  one  Sunday 
evening.  It  was  always  hard  for  him  to  talk  about 
work  in  which  he  had  taken  a  prominent  part.  I 
wanted  him  to  tell  about  the  circumstances  leading 
to  his  receiving  the  decoration  from  the  Shah,  and  to 
show  the  stars  to  the  audience.  But  with  his  charac- 
teristic modesty  he  went  to  the  service  without  them, 
and  they  were  only  shown  when  my  husband  in  the 
pulpit,  against  my  brother's  protest,  fastened  them 
upon  his  coat  while  he  was  speaking." 

And  it  was  so  also  in  Persia.  He  went  about  in  a 
quiet  and  unpretentious  way,  careful  always  to  do 
what  the  Persians  deemed  proper,  but  with  no  show  or 
retinue  of  any  sort.  Mrs.  Whipple  tells  of  the  trip 
which  Dr.  Cochran  and  Mr.  Whipple  took  to  Bagdad  :— 

One  incident  I  recall  that  happened  when  Dr.  Cochran 
and  Mr.  Whipple  were  taking  a  tour  to  Bagdad.  Whenever 
they  would  meet  in  after  years,  they  would  refer  with  great 
enjoyment  to  the  difference  in  the  way  an  Occidental  and 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  371 

an  Oriental  looked  upon  the  idea  of  greatness.  As  long  as 
they  were  in  Persia  there  was  no  trouble,  but  when  they 
crossed  over  the  border  into  Turkey,  the  custom  house 
officials  stopped  them,  and  made  such  exorbitant  demands 
that  Dr.  Cochran  protested,  telling  them  he  was  the  American 
Hakim  Sahib  from  Urumia. 

They  would  not  believe  him,  saying  that  such  a  great 
man  must  be  a  tall,  fierce  person,  travelling  with  a  large 
retinue  of  servants.  They  robbed  them  and  let  them  go. 
Dr.  Cochran  warned  them  that  they  would  be  sorry,  for 
they  would  be  compelled  to  return  the  goods  and  pay  a  heavy 
fine  besides.  They  would  not  listen.  After  finishing  the 
journey  to  Bagdad,  floating  down  the  Tigris  on  a  raft  of 
goat  skins,  and  returning  by  way  of  Babylon,  and  passing 
many  thousands  of  pilgrims  on  the  way  to  Mecca,  they 
reached  home.  Dr.  Cochran  reported  the  case  to  the  Gov- 
ernor, and  in  some  time  less  than  a  year  most  of  the  stolen 
goods  were  returned  with  many  apologies  to  the  great 
American  Doctor. 

With  innumerable  provocations  to  lose  his  temper, 
he  was  noted  for  his  calm  and  tranquil  spirit  and  his 
patient  acceptance  of  disappointment  and  thwarted 
plans.  How  wonderful  such  self-control  is,  those  will 
appreciate  who  know  the  strain  to  which  it  is  sub- 
jected in  an  Oriental  land.  He  had  come,  not  to  be 
ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and  he  did  not  chafe 
at  hindrances  which  he  could  not  remove,  nor  complain 
because  the  conditions  of  service  were  difficult  and 
trying.  The  natives  never  ceased  to  be  impressed  with 
his  patience  and  quietness.  By  his  example  he 
preached  as  powerfully  as  any  man  ever  preached  by 
words.  One  native  pastor  writes : — 

In  1896  I  was  with  the  late  Mr.  Labaree  and  Dr.  Cochran 
on  their  journey  to  Kochanis  on  a  mission  of  condolence  to 
the  Patriarch  on  the  death  of  his  brother,  Eshay.  Dr. 
Cochran  was  known  to  me  throughout  my  life,  but  on  this 


372  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHKAN 

journey  were  new  dispositions  and  influences  seen  in  him 
which  I  was  not  acquainted  with  before.  When  we  reached 
Mawana  the  people  came  out  to  meet  us  on  the  way  with  a 
salute  of  rifle  discharge.  This  village  had  often  been  saved 
from  plunder  and  massacre  through  the  efforts  of  Dr. 
Cochran.  The  following  day  the  people  accompanied  us  to 
the  Turkish  boundary.  Soon  afterwards  we  met  the  guards, 
who  pointed  their  muskets  to  stop  us.  Dr.  Cochran  asked 
me  to  whisper  to  the  chief  as  to  who  were  the  travellers. 
As  soon  as  they  heard  the  name  of  Cochran  they  lowered 
their  muskets  and  accompanied  us  respectfully. 

In  Gawar  a  number  of  brave  riders  proceeded  to  meet 
us  on  the  way.  With  them  was  Dr.  Alexander,  one  of  his 
pupils.  In  a  short  while  we  reached  Dizza,  the  head- 
quarters of  the  local  ruler.  According  to  the  custom,  Dr. 
Cochran  and  his  party  called  on  the  pasha,  who  received 
him  with  great  respect. 

We  were  informed  that  a  delay  of  nine  days  was  neces- 
sary before  receiving  any  order  from  Constantinople  with 
regard  to  our  advance  towards  Kochanis.  In  spite  of  this 
tiresome  delay,  and  the  urgent  desire  of  the  other  members 
of  the  party  to  go  forward  or  return  to  Urumia,  he  was  calm, 
quiet,  and  patient  until  the  time  came  when  we  were  con- 
veyed peacefully  to  the  Patriarch.  During  our  stay  at  Dizza 
many  Kurdish  chiefs  called  on  Dr.  Cochran. 

Only  one  person  of  the  party  knew  the  delight  the  Patri- 
arch had  had  in  having  such  a  new  guest  as  that.  He  told 
me  that  he  owed  many  obligations  to  the  doctor.  One  of 
them  was  that  through  his  kind  efforts  he  was  prevented 
from  going  to  Constantinople,  where  he  was  called  by  the 
Turkish  government. 

Our  journey  lasted  twenty  days.  During  this  period  I 
realized  his  influence  in  the  Kurdish  mountains,  his  sym- 
pathy with  the  poor  of  our  people,  his  honour  by  the  Kurdish 
chiefs,  and  his  skill  as  a  doctor,  but  more  than  all,  I  learned 
the  humble  spirit  and  patience  of  a  great  man  towards  those 
who  are  uneducated. 


One  of  the  native  doctors  trained  by  him  bears  the 
same  testimony: — 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  373 

I  have  known  Dr.  Cochran  for  twenty  years,  the  first 
five  in  college,  and  the  next  five  in  the  hospital,  studying 
there.  During  all  this  time  I  never  noticed  in  this  man 
any  word  or  act  that  was  not  proper,  whether  in  his  dealings 
with  his  studies,  pupils,  or  patients.  I  think  that  I  am  not 
mistaken  if  I  say  that  he  was  above  human,  because  I  have 
seen  no  one  like  him.  Whenever,  we  his  students,  were 
wrong  in  something,  he  would  correct  and  advise  us  in  such 
a  pleasant  way  that  we  felt  more  pleased  with  him.  He 
suffered  many  troubles,  but  he  was  always  content,  satisfied. 
He  spent  much  time  in  entertaining  his  poor,  dirty  pa- 
tients. I  could  not  do  what  he  used  to  do.  I  was  once 
with  him  on  the  way  to  S almas  to  visit  a  sick  person;  there 
was  also  a  servant  with  us,  and  when  we  arrived  in  Kushchi 
it  was  night.  Early  in  the  morning,  while  dark,  we  left 
the  place,  and  while  in  the  mountains,  where  are  dangerous 
passes,  suddenly  a  band  of  horsemen, — highwaymen, — came 
upon  us,  and  began  to  shoot  at  us  I  think  they  shot  about 
twenty  bullets,  and  we  were  shouting,  "  It  is  Dr.  Cochran !  " 
"  It  is  Dr.  Cochran."  When  they  came  nearer  one  of  them 
recognized  Dr.  Cochran,  and  he  came  down  from  his  horse, 
kneeled,  and  apologized.  He  was  a  servant  of  a  chief  who 
had  been  cured  by  Dr.  Cochran  in  the  hospital.  I  thought 
hereafter  Dr.  Cochran  will  not  travel  in  the  night,  but  he 
encouraged  me,  saying  that  this  is  the  third  time  he  has 
been  shot  at,  but  the  Lord  has  saved  him  from  all.  And 
he  talked  with  these  as  if  nothing  had  happened.  Within 
the  last  ten  years  I  have  been  working  with  him  among  the 
officials  and  nobility  of  the  country.  The  respect  and  esteem 
which  he  had  among  those  people  was  simply  extraordinary. 
They  thought  of  him  as  their  elder  brother,  wise  and  honour- 
able. They  had  confidence  in  him  by  revealing  to  him  their 
secrets,  and  asking  his  advice  when  they  were  in  distress 
and  trouble,  and  he  used  to  help  them  as  much  as  he  could. 

And  one  of  his  younger  fellow  missionaries,  who  was 
born  in  Persia,  testifies: — 

I  used  to  know  Dr.  Cochran  when  I  was  a  young  man, 
and  to  admire  him;  but  since  I  came  back  this  time,  his 
character  has  been  a  revelation  to  me  of  quiet  unassuming 


374      JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

power.  He  illustrated  the  repose  and  calm  of  real  strength 
more  than  any  man  it  was  ever  my  pleasure  to  meet.  I  have 
found  this  year  that  nothing  I  have  ever  known  is  such  a 
continual  strain  upon  one's  temper  and  nerves  as  the  con- 
tinual contact  with  the  smallness  and  pettiness  of  native 
character.  I  thought  that  I  was  amiable  before  I  came 
here;  I  have  had  to  revise  this  estimate  of  myself,  and  pray 
daily  for  patience.  In  all  this  the  example  of  Dr.  Cochran 
has  been  a  continual  lesson.  No  one  had  more  to  try  him, 
yet  no  one  was  more  uniformly  calm  and  undisturbed  in  his 
treatment  of  the  natives.  No  one  saw  more  clearly  their 
faults  of  character,  yet  no  one  was  more  fair  and  kind  in 
his  judgments  of  them.  And  it  was  not  altogether  due 
to  his  natural  gentleness,  but  it  was  the  result  of  a  lifelong 
communion  with  the  Master.  Of  that  there  was  no  shadow 
of  a  doubt.  And  he  had  his  reward  in  the  love  and  admira- 
tion which  the  people  gave  him.  In  spite  of  the  adulation 
and  flattery  he  received,  and  the  real  power  he  exercised,  he 
was  always  the  same  humble,  unassuming  man  -to  the  end. 

He  truly  loved  the  people,  Mohammedan  and  Chris- 
tian, and  they  knew  that  he  loved  them,  and  that  he 
was  living  for  them,  and  that,  in  a  true  sense,  in  his 
Master's  spirit  and  name,  he  was  bearing  their  trans- 
gressions and  sins,  and  giving  himself  for  them. 

But  the  inner  spring  of  his  life  was  not  feeling,  but 
a  firm  and  noble  sense  of  duty  and  a  steadfast  devotion 
to  what  was  right.  This  unbending  conscientiousness 
showed  itself  in  his  frugality  and  precision  in  the  use 
of  mission  money.  He  would  never  countenance  any 
extravagance.  If  it  was  necessary  for  some  one  to 
undertake  the  unpleasant  duty  of  scrutinizing  another 
man's  accounts  and  making  criticism,  he  was  ready. 
He  wrote  long  letters  to  explain  the  necessity  of  what 
many  would  regard  as  small  expenditures.  But  the 
money  was  all  sacred  money  in  his  eyes,  and  an  outlay 
of  $200  needed  the  same  moral  justification  as  an  out- 
lay of  $200,000.  He  obeyed  with  scrupulous  fidelity 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  375 

all  the  rules  of  the  Station,  the  Mission,  and  the  Board, 
and  he  thought  that  others  should  do  so.  He  was 
courteous  but  perfectly  firm  in  refusing  to  countenance 
loose  disregard  of  these  rules  and  all  easy-going  irreg- 
ularity. He  saw  no  reason  why  righteousness  should 
cause  bad  feeling.  "  It  is  news  to  me,"  he  wrote  of 

one  whose  carelessness  he  had  to  check,  "  that  Mr. 

entertained  any  but  the  kindest  feelings  toward  me,  as 
I  have  never  had  any  other  toward  him."  All  moneys 
which  came  to  him  in  his  work  he  carefully  accounted 
for,  and  would  not  regard  presents  to  him  for  medical 
service  as  personal,  but  always  credited  them  to  the 
hospital,  and  if  he  wanted  to  keep  a  rug  or  a  horse 
which  had  been  given  him,  he  would  pay  its  value  into 
the  hospital  funds.  He  had  a  sense  of  honour  in  such 
things,  as  fine  and  keen  as  the  edge  of  the  sharpest 
dagger  blade  worn  by  any  of  his  Kurdish  friends  or 
foes.  He  never  shirked  work  or  evaded  duty,  how- 
ever hard  and  unpleasant.  He  never  complained  of 
having  too  much  on  hand  or  of  being  loaded  with 
more  than  his  share  of  work.  The  rules  of  Archbishop 
Benson  were  illustrated  in  his  life: — 

Not  to  call  attention  to  crowded  work,  or  petty  fatigues, 
or  trivial  experiences. 

To  heal  wounds  which  in  times  past  my  cruel  and  careless 
hands  have  made. 

To  seek  no  favour,  no  compassion;  to  deserve,  not  ask, 
for  tenderness. 

Not  to  feel  any  uneasiness  when  my  advice  or  opinion  is 
not  asked,  or  is  set  aside. 

But  he  had  no  careless  hands.  His  touch  was  ever 
gentle  and  healing,  and  he  threw  his  whole  self  into 
all  that  he  did.  "  He  was  so  very  careful,"  wrote  one 
of  the  Anglican  missionaries,  "  at  every  turn  to  do  the 


376  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHEAN 

thing  he  had  in  hand,  and  that  only,  and  had  an 
extraordinary  capacity  for  throwing  himself  into  the 
work  that  he  was  for  the  time  engrossed  with.  On 
each  occasion  he  seemed  to  be  a  different  person,  yet 
through  all  he  was  the  same.  It  is  difficult  to  explain 
what  I  mean,  but  I  know  it  came  to  him  on  account 
of  his  being  able  to  throw  himself  so  whole-heartedly 
into  the  task  he  had  in  hand,  that  for  the  time  being 
he  forgot  his  other  gifts.  It  is  from  such  lives  that 
we  learn  the  meaning  of  missionary  zeal." 

Seeing  him  in  his  work  of  unselfish  mediation  one 
would  have  supposed  him  to  be  a  high-minded  diplo- 
matist and  no  doctor,  and  seeing  him  in  simple  social 
intercourse  he  would  never  have  been  thought  of  as 
the  great  mediator  of  northwest  Persia,  and  when  he 
was  in  his  wards  among  his  patients  he  was  so  much  a 
doctor  that  one  could  not  think  of  him  as  aught  else. 
Whatever  his  hands  found  to  do,  they  did  with  their 
might. 

Such  a  man  was,  of  course,  a  great  element  of  peace 
and  good  will  and  concord  in  a  Mission  Station.  He 
could  get  on  with  anybody,  for  the  simple  reason  that 
he  could  be  unselfish,  and  he  would  not  quarrel.  "  I 
think  I  am  right,"  he  wrote  once  of  certain  troubles 
in  other  Stations,  "  in  saying  that  the  root  of  most  of 
this  evil  is  the  sin  which  all  of  us  are  in  danger  of 
falling  into,  of  not  getting  on  nicely  with  our  asso- 
ciates— a  sin  which,  though  difficult  to  keep  out  of, 
after  all,  we  have  no  excuse  for  committing.  I  confess 
I  am  tired  of  it — so  tired  that  it  will,  I  know,  be  easier 
for  me  to  keep  away  from  it.  I  believe  one  of  our 
chief  duties  is  to  get  on  peaceably  with  those  who  are 
working  with  us,  and  if  we  don't  do  it,  we  are  not 
worthy  to  hold  the  high  positions  given  to  us.  Look- 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  377 

ing  at  the  least  evil  which  this  produces  the  mission- 
aries have  no  right  to  be  the  cause  of  the  loss  of  so 
much  money  out  of  the  Lord's  Treasury." 

He  kept  the  peace  in  his  own  Station  always,  and 
though  often  difficult  problems  arose,  they  were  cared 
for  with  a  tact  and  good  judgment  and  Christian  kind- 
ness which  made  the  Station  a  model  in  these  regards, 
or  as  nearly  a  model  as  a  Mission  Station  of  human 
beings  is  likely  to  become. 

And  there  were  still  more  perplexing  problems  al- 
ways present  in  the  matter  of  the  relation  of  the  Mis- 
sion to  other  Missions.  For  years  the  Mission  culti- 
vated the  field  alone.  There  never  was  room  for  more 
than  one  Mission,  but  first  the  Roman  Catholics  came, 
then  the  Anglican  Mission,  then  innumerable  small 
ventures — American  and  European  congregations  or  in- 
dividuals supporting  Nestorian  preachers,  educated,  for 
the  most  part,  in  the  Presbyterian  schools,  some  honest 
but  others  eager  for  the  larger  pay  and  for  the  absence 
of  all  supervision,  enjoyed  by  them  as  independent 
missionaries.  Dozens  of  these  Missions  grew  up,  many 
of  them  of  the  most  fraudulent  character,  some  of  them 
manned  by  Persians  who  had  married  American  young 
women,  whom  they  had  brought  back  to  Oriental  con- 
ditions. The  problem  of  self-support,  which  one  Mis- 
sion undisturbed  could  have  worked  out,  and  the  prob- 
lem of  national  self-respect  among  the  Nestorians,  be- 
came almost  impossible  of  solution.  All  of  these  Mis- 
sions depended  more  or  less  on  Dr.  Cochran.  His 
shadow  rested  upon  every  one  of  them.  The  young  men 
who  had  gone  to  America  and  Europe,  and  had  come 
back  with  support  for  independent  and  divisive  work, 
still  went  to  him  when  in  trouble,  and  looked  to  him 
as  the  great  protector  of  the  nation.  He  refused  none. 


378  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

He  showed  no  resentment  or  ill  will,  though  the  con- 
ditions which  came  to  exist  presented  the  most  flagrant 
violation  of  the  principles  of  Mission  comity  and  co- 
operation to  be  found  anywhere  in  the  world.  It  cut 
him  to  the  heart  to  see  what  was  being  done  in  the 
name  of  Christ,  but  he  would  quarrel  with  none,  and 
kept  the  friendship  of  all,  though  they  knew  what  his 
views  were  and  the  earnestness  of  his  disapproval  of 
all  sectarian  divisions. 

His  religious  life  was  unostentatious,  but  it  was  deep 
and  true.  Mrs.  Cochran  writes:— 

He  said  he  never  could  make  speeches  and  prepare  prayer- 
meeting  talks,  though  perhaps  not  all  who  heard  him  would 
agree  with  him.  However  that  may  have  been,  he  had  a 
gift  for  living  his  religion  down  to  the  minutest  detail  of 
his  daily  life. 

From  what  I  learned  of  his  life,  I  feel  that  it  came  from 
his  habit  of  frequent,  I  might  say,  constant  prayer. 

He  had  always  a  freshness  about  his  public  prayer  that 
showed  it  was  not  a  routine  performance.  He  had  none 
of  those  set  phrases,  to  one  who  listened  to  his  daily  morning 
and  evening  family  prayers,  as  well  as  joined  many  times 
in  his  private  devotions.  But  one  phrase  could  I  ever  detect 
as  recurring  frequently  and  that  may  have  been  only  for 
those  few  trying  months, — "  as  in  the  hollow  of  Thy  hand." 

And  God  kept  him  so.  Once  at  Tabriz  I  remember  he 
received  a  note  or  telegram  while  we  were  at  dinner  which 
involved  us  in  serious  perplexity,  upsetting  plans  we  had 
made.  Directly  dinner  was  over  he  said  he  would  go  and 
see  some  one  relative  to  the  business  in  hand.  I  asked  him 
to  come  to  our  room  a  moment  first,  and  when  we  were 
alone  I  said,  "I  think  we  ought  to  pray  about  it  a  few 
minutes  first  before  you  do  anything."  He  turned  to  me 
with  such  wide-open,  blue  eyes  and  said,  "Why  certainly, 
I've  been  praying  about  it  ever  since  I  received  the  letter." 
And  yet  to  have  seen  him  taking  his  part  in  the  conversation 
during  dinner,  one  would  not  have  guessed.  Any  one  who 
came  close  enough  to  know  his  heart  realized  how  vital  a 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  379 

part  of  his  being  prayer  was.  He  conducted  morning 
prayers  in  Syriac  and  evening  prayers  with  the  family  alone, 
without  the  servants,  in  English.  He  had  his  private  de- 
votions as  well,  and  has  told  me  that  he  made  it  a  practice 
the  first  thing  when  he  awoke  in  the  morning  to  go  over  all 
the  duties  he  had  before  him  in  the  day  and  pray  over  them. 
He  prayed  as  he  walked  or  rode  about  the  city.  When  any 
knotty  problem  came  up,  no  matter  where,  his  calm,  partial 
preoccupation  meant  in  him  prayer,  as  he  has  confessed  to 
me.  He  once  said,  "I  spend  very  little  time  on  my  knees 
in  prayer,  but  a  great  deal  on  my  feet." 

"  Knowing  that  we  have  constantly  committed  our 
way  to  the  Lord,"  he  wrote  regarding  a  great  dis- 
appointment, "  and  believing  that  He  is  leading  us, 
although  not  in  paths  that  we  would  choose,  we  yield 
to  His  will."  This  was  not  perfunctory.  It  was  his 
life.  But  his  life  was  not  a  passive  submission.  It 
was  an  active  fulfilling  of  the  will  of  God.  As  the 
Buffalo  Express  said  in  a  leading  editorial  after  the 
tidings  of  his  death  had  come: — 

The  late  Dr.  Cochran  was  an  inspired  example  of  the 
consecrated  mission  worker.  He  was  earnest  and  tireless, 
not  only  in  spreading  the  faith,  but  in  disseminating  a 
knowledge  of  health  conditions  among  the  masses  of  ignorant 
natives  in  Persia.  With  the  aid  of  funds  from  home,  he 
built  up  a  flourishing  hospital  for  the  benefit  of  thousands 
who  had  never  even  heard  of  such  an  institution  before. 
He  gained  a  standing  which  gave  him  power  among  the 
native  authorities,  and  he  used  it  for  the  material  as  well 
as  the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  among  whom  he  had 
placed  himself.  He  buried  himself  in  darkness  in  which  a 
mind  so  finely  educated  as  his  could  find  no  reward  but 
that  of  seeing  his  work  prosper  and  seeing  his  thousands  of 
charges  benefit.  He  gave  to  this  far-away  land  talents  which 
would  have  won  him  distinction  and  remuneration  in  civili- 
zation, and  he  leaves  an  indispensable  gift  to  Persia  in  the 
form  of  a  well-organized  medical  institution  and  a  corps  of 
efficient  assistants  to  promote  the  work. 


380  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

In  his  relations  to  his  fellows  his  magnanimity  was 
unbounded.  He  offered  once  to  give  up  his  post  in 
Urumia  to  another  and  go  to  Salmas,  or  if  it  would 
be  more  acceptable,  to  have  the  friend  to  whom  he  was 
writing  come  to  Urumia  and  take  the  first  place,  Dr. 
Cochran  taking  a  place  as  his  assistant.  And  the 
proposition  was  made  in  all  honesty  and  sincerity.  He 
was  not  seeking  his  own,  but  the  things  of  Jesus  Christ. 

Such  a  man  made  a  profound  impression  on  all  who 
came  to  know  him.  The  Engish  and  Russian  consuls 
were  won  by  him,  and  took  him  into  their  confidence. 
Whatever  was  worth  knowing  about  affairs  in  north- 
western Persia  he  knew.  Officials  all  over  the  Empire 
knew  him  and  respected  him.  In  Urumia  he  walked  to 
and  fro  as  a  living  Christian  evidence.  "  Mingling  so 
freely  as  he  does  with  the  higher  classes  of  Moslems  in 
this  town,"  wrote  Dr.  Labaree  in  1903,  "  he  is  creating  a 
deeper  impression  upon  them  as  to  the  superior  worth 
of  the  Christian  faith  than  arguments  from  the  most 
able  controversialists  could  do."  And  his  work  was 
helping  to  produce  wide-reaching  and  enduring  changes. 
In  religious  character,  as  well  as  in  social  and  political 
conditions,  the  Nestorians,  and  to  no  small  extent,  the 
Moslems  of  the  field  in  which  he  worked  were  deeply 
affected  by  his  life.  They  are  not,  and  never  can  be 
again  what  they  were  when  he  came,  in  1878,  as  a 
young  man,  to  contribute  his  life  to  the  enlarged  work 
of  the  "  Mission  to  the  Nestorians."  "  It  is  a  vindica- 
tion of  the  American  missionary  effort  beyond  cavil, 
that  when  their  field  is  lighted  up  by  an  event  of  world- 
wide interest  such  a  work  is  revealed,  the  fruit  of  two 
generations  of  Americans,"  said  the  Boston  Transcript 
in  an  editorial  in  January,  1907,  with  regard  to  the 
agitation  in  Persia  for  a  constitution,  which  it  closed 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  381 

with  an  account  of  Dr.  Cochran,  "  who  played  a  role 
to  some  extent  such  as  the  one  that  other  modern  hero 
'  Chinese  Gordon '  enacted  in  China." 

But  only  in  the  intimacy  of  the  fellowship  of  his  own 
Mission  Station,  where  sickness,  and  sorrow,  and  com- 
mon work,  and  common  peril  drew  men  together  in  a 
brotherhood  closer  than  a  brotherhood  of  blood,  was 
Dr.  Cochran  known  in  his  true  worth.  And  Dr.  W.  A. 
Shedd  writes: — 

One  of  the  aspects  of  Dr.  Cochran's  character  that  ought 
to  be  mentioned  is  his  great  usefulness  as  a  member  of  the 
Station  in  its  councils  and  its  community  life.  It  is  well 
within  the  truth  to  say  that  in  all  Station  questions,  cer- 
tainly since  my  father's  death,  his  counsel  has  always  been 
depended  on  as  the  most  weighty  of  all.  This  has  been  the 
case  not  merely  in  his  own  department,  but  in  every  de- 
partment of  the  work.  He  was  never  hasty  or  forward  in 
the  expression  of  his  opinion,  but  he  never  dodged  an  issue 
when  it  came  up  squarely.  We  could  always  be  sure  in 
Station  Meeting  that  he  would  have  a  well  considered  opinion 
on  every  important  subject,  and  that  this  opinion  would  be 
carefully  and  clearly  expressed.  He  never  pressed  the  claims 
of  his  own  department  of  work  at  the  expense  of  other  de- 
partments. He  always  took  cheerfully  the  share  of  the 
"cut"  that  fell  to  him,  and  that  share  was  likely  to  be 
larger  rather  than  smaller  than  his  proportion.  He  was  very 
faithful  in  attending  all  Station  Meetings,  regarding  them 
as  part  of  his  work  just  as  much  as  anything  else,  and 
just  as  conscientiously  performed.  Outside  of  Station  Meet- 
ing in  the  more  informal  but  equally  important  counsels 
of  work,  he  was  just  as  indispensable.  Matters  that  were 
complicated  by  a  personal  element  lie  did  more  than  any 
one  else  to  guide.  His  reticence  and  his  absolute  loyalty 
to  any  confidences  confided  to  him  led  missionaries  to  go 
to  him  in  matters  that  they  might  hesitate  to  mention  in 
Station  Meeting.  This  was  true  in  all  his  work.  Every  one 
had  confidence  in  him  and  had  no  fear  in  telling  him  their 
private  affairs.  While  his  own  personal  preferences  had 


382  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

but  little  weight  in  the  decisions  made,  he  allowed  very 
generously  for  the  preferences  of  others — possibly  too  much. 
In  all  these  ways  he  was  a  most  useful  and  helpful  mis- 
sionary associate,  just  as  much  depended  on  in  private  mat- 
ters as  in  matters  of  more  public  character,  and  not  least 
in  those  questions  which  are  most  difficult  in  missionary 
life  because  they  are  neither  exclusively  private  nor  wholly 
public.  I  remember  how  emphatically  he  once  spoke  of  the 
deference  and  cordiality  with  which  my  father  treated  his 
juniors  in  missionary  service.  What  he  said  was  true,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  that  Dr.  Cochran  owed  not  a  little  to  the 
wise  companionship  of  my  father  and  mother;  and  all  that 
he  said  of  my  father  could  just  as  truly  be  said  of  himself. 
I  have  many  times  had  occasion  to  ask  his  advice,  and 
always  got  the  best,  but  I  have  no  single  memory  of  a  case 
in  which  he  intruded  or  insisted  upon  his  opinion  being 
followed. 

While  he  was  such  a  burden-bearer,  he  was  very  chary  of 
placing  burdens  on  others.  He  carried  his  own  work  on 
alone  in  very  great  measure,  partly,  perhaps,  from  a  quiet 
and  just  sense  of  his  own  strength,  certainly  not  from  any 
selfish  desire  to  have  his  own  way,  and  mainly,  I  believe, 
from  an  unwillingness  to  increase  the  burdens  of  others. 
His  reticence  as  to  his  own  work,  and  his  unwillingness  to 
trouble  others  were  possibly  carried  too  far — too  far,  at 
least,  for  the  curiosity  and  interest  of  some  of  us.  Another 
reason,  I  think,  for  this  characteristic  of  quiet  independence 
was  that  he  was  too  calm  and  clear-sighted  to  exaggerate 
the  importance  of  incidents.  He  was  not  unmindful  of  the 
abiding  importance  of  our  work,  but  he  did  not  feel  that 
every  difficult  question  was  a  momentous  one.  When  crises 
came,  he  met  them  calmly,  and  asked  advice;  but  he  did 
not  anticipate  troubles  by  peering  into  the  future  to  find 
them.  It  may  be  that  he  bore  his  burdens  too  much  alone, 
that  he  would  have  lived  longer  if  he  had  shared  more  with 
others.  He  certainly  had  his  share  of  bitterness  and  in- 
gratitude and  unkindness  from  others;  but  these  personal 
troubles  he  never  spoke  of,  unless  some  missionary  interest 
were  at  stake.  Most  of  the  occurrences  of  this  nature  were 
never  mentioned  to  any  one  except,  perhaps,  those  nearest 
of  all;  and  no  personal  issue  ever  entered  into  his  relations 


AS  A  CHRISTIAN  MAN  383 

to  others.  In  the  social  life  of  the  Station,  his  place  was  a 
large  one.  Genial,  refined,  and  of  unusual  conversational 
power,  he  entered  heartily  into  the  little  social  occasions 
that  enliven  and  refresh  the  missionary  life.  He  said  that 
nothing  in  America  was  more  refreshing  than  the  fact  that 
he  could  cast  off  reserve  and  ceremony.  Here  he  never  felt 
that  he  could  cast  off  his  public  position.  The  servants  in 
the  house  at  least  were  witnesses.  In  spite  of  this  real 
limitation,  he  enjoyed  the  relaxation  of  games,  music,  and 
social  intercourse.  Besides  these,  his  recreations  were 
horseback  riding,  of  which  he  was  fond,  and  an  occasional 
excursion  to  some  place  where  the  scenery  was  grand.  The 
troubles  of  the  last  two  years  of  his  life  made  it  impossible 
to  ride  freely  on  short  rides,  for  even  the  nearer  hills  were 
too  near  the  Kurds.  How  many  times  he  headed  parties  to 
the  top  of  Seir  Mountain  no  one  can  tell,  but  it  is  safe 
enough  to  say  that  there  were  as  many  ascents  as  years  in 
his  life,  and  that  his  zest  for  the  ride  and  the  scenery  never 
lost  its  keenness.  Much  as  we  loved  him  as  a  friend,  host, 
companion,  and  associate  in  work,  we  loved  him  most  as  our 
physician.  He  was  never  too  weary  to  respond  to  a  call, 
nothing  was  too  trivial  to  gain  his  attention,  and  nothing 
so  serious  as  to  disturb  his  self-control.  For  years  he  was 
an  almost  daily  visitor  in  my  home,  and  the  memories  of 
weakness  and  suffering  are  hallowed  by  his  presence.  His 
sense  of  humour  and  the  quiet  feeling  of  his  strength  were 
more  marked  in  the  sick  room  than  anywhere  else.  And  as 
he  went  with  us  down  into  the  valleys,  dark  with  the  shadows 
of  death,  and  even  to  the  brink  of  the  river,  his  tenderness 
and  skill  never  failed  him.  As  my  father  wrote  on  the 
bed  of  his  last  sickness,  Dr.  Cochran's  presence  in  the  sick 
room  was  a  revelation  of  the  blessings  of  a  missionary 
physician.  What  he  was  to  us  he  was,  as  opportunity  offered, 
to  the  poorest  and  most  degraded.  We  who  knew  him  best, 
honoured  him,  trusted  him,  reverenced  him,  and  loved  him; 
and  more  than  ever,  if  possible,  now  that  he  is  not  with  us. 

There  was  one  in  America  who  knew  him  as  well  as 
his  associates  in  Urumia,  one  who  had  known  him  from 
his  boyhood,  and  had  loved  him  from  the  first  for  what 


384  JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN 

he  was  and  what  he  was  to  be  and  do.  "  His  was  a 
pure  life  of  consecration  to  the  highest  ideals,  and  an 
absolutely  unselfish  devotion  to  duty,"  writes  Mr.  S.  M. 
Clement,  of  Buffalo.  "  Here  was  a  man  who  had 
put  aside  the  alluring  ambitions  of  a  most  promising 
professional  career  in  this  country,  and  was  living  day 
by  day,  and  every  day,  the  Christ-life  amid  the  perils 
and  privations  of  fanatical,  heathen  Persia.  Nothing 
but  the  teaching  and  example  of  Christ  can  explain 
such  a  life;  and  he  had  more  of  His  spirit  than  any 
man  I  have  ever  known." 

And  Mr.  Clement  has  nobly  pictured  him  in  the  in- 
scription on  the  tablet  now  set  in  the  wall  of  the  new 
Cochran  Memorial  Hospital  which  Mr.  Clement  has 
built  in  Urumia,  where  Dr.  Cochran  was  born  and  did 
his  work,  and  died,  and  now  rests  from  his  toil: — 

THIS  BUILDING  IS  ERECTED  IN  LOVING  MEMORY  OP 

JOSEPH  PLUMB  COCHRAN,  M.  D. 

THE  BELOVED  PHYSICIAN,  THE  FOUNDER  OP  THIS  HOSPITAL, 
AND  THE  FRIEND  OF  PEOPLE  OF  EVERY  RACE,  CREED,  AND 
RANK,  SKILFUL  IN  HEALING,  WISE  IN  COUNSEL,  GENTLE  IN 
SPIRIT,  DEFENDING  THE  OPPRESSED,  RELIEVING  THE  POOR, 
COMFORTING  THE  DYING.  IN  LOYAL  DEVOTION  TO  THE  LORD 
JESUS  CHRIST,  "  WHO  CAME  NOT  TO  BE  MINISTERED  UNTO 
BUT  TO  MINISTER,"  HE  HERE  GAVE  HIS  LIFE  THAT  OTHERS 
MIGHT  LIVE. 

BORN    URUMIA,    JANUARY    14,    1855. 
DIED   URUMIA,  AUGUST   18,   1905. 


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1911 
Speer,  Robert  E 

"The  Hakim  Sahim."  The  foreign 
doctor;  a  biography  of  Joseph 
Pluirb  Cochran,  M.D.  of  Persia 


CALIFORNIA  COLLEGE  OF  MEDICINE  LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  IRVINE 

IRVINE,  CALIFORNIA  92664 


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